The Rise of the TOK family
by keithallen
Summary: Jameron fic. Although this does start at the ending of TSCC, I am not calling it season 3, this is more about John, Cameron, their kids and their fight against Sky Net. Romance, horror, hurt, family, friendship, humor, sex, blood, and an ass-biting dog. What more could you want?
1. Chapter 1

The Rise of the TOK family

Epp 1

NOTE : I am not calling this a TSSC season three. First there are many of those already out there. Second, the focus is not on Sarah Connor, but on John and Cameron and yes – their kids. This is a Jameron fic, but it does start at the end of TSSC, and goes into the unknown future beyond that series.

 **LAST SEASON of TSSC**

A flash of light and a translucent globe appeared in a basement, bolts of electricity danced between the globe and the walls, crackling with energy. Inside the globe two figures appeared. The globe disappeared, the electric arcs stopped. In the smooth concave surface of the floor left by the energy, John Connor and Catherine Weaver knelt, naked.

Reeling from the experience of time travel, John stood up and frantically looked around him. "Where is Cameron? Where's her body?"

"It doesn't go through," Catherine Weaver stated. She formed a coat and clothes of a resistance fighter around herself.

Small fires and a few bare bulbs lit up the wreck of what looked like a basement they had ended up in. It looked like people had slept here at one time.

Hearing voices coming and the bark of dogs, John saw a coat on a cot and snapped it up to put it on. The voices and dogs got nearer. Crouching down, he looked through a hole in the wall to a hallway to see armed men with dogs pass by in the hallway. Once they went by, he peeking out of the room. John figured it was best to go the other way. He walked out of the room and into another room in this underground maze to look for a way out.

In front of him, a man appeared from around the corner. Seeing John, he lifted his rifle and announced, "Got one, I got one!"

John stopped and threw his hands up in surrender. "One what?" he asked, afraid the man was going to shoot him. He looked back to Weaver for support. She was gone.

Turning back, John quickly said, "I'm not metal."

"Don't move! Don't move!"

Stuttering, John pleaded, "Please, I .. I don't have anything! I'm human!"

"I will blast you!"

Another figure appeared behind the solider. "Stand down," the figure ordered.

Walking forward, the second man came closer. It was Derek. Derek walked up to John, looking him in the eye. He glanced back at the soldier and said, "Look in his eyes, he's got about as much metal in him as you do."

John smiled upon seeing his uncle alive. "Derek," John said, relieved.

"Yeah?" Derek asked blankly.

John's smile faded as he saw Derek didn't recognize him. "John, John Connor." John prodded.

Derek eyed John, there was no recognition in his eyes at all. With a shake of his head, he said, "I know a lot of people kid, I don't know you." Turning to the soldiers gathering behind him, Derek asked, "Anyone heard the name 'John Connor'?" Heads shook.

John stared at them. Derek didn't know him. His mind spun, how could Derek not know him?

Turning back to John, Derek said in a huff. "Well, you know what? I think you're gonna be famous. My brother's back and you're wearing his coat."

Hearing footsteps behind him, John turned around. The man coming back up the hall eyed John as John gaped at him. Derek's brother. His father, Kyle. His father walked up eying him with the same suspicious gaze Derek had. As John's mind reeled from seeing him, John saw another very familiar face. Cameron, dressed in the same type of militia clothing came up behind Kyle, holding a dog on a leash.

John's eyes riveted on her. He watched intently as she squatted down and pet the German Shepard's head. A smile began to grow on his face. He'd found her! His smile faded as she cast her blank gaze on him. Again, there was no recognition in the stare she returned.

 _What the hell was going on?_

Staring at the TOK series terminator he knew as Cameron, John's mind began to work. He'd come forward in time. He hadn't gathered survivors after judgment day, he never led the resistance. Here, in this time, he didn't exist.

"Who's this?" Kyle asked as John stared at Cameron.

"Says his name's John Connor," Derek replied. He glanced at John and added, "And he seems to be taken with Allison."

John snapped his head back to Derek. "Allison?" he asked weakly.

"Who'd you think she was?" Derek asked.

Kyle studied John. "John Connor, huh?" he said with a grunt. "Where did you come from, John Connor, and why are you wearing nothing but my coat?"

John snapped his head to look at Kyle. "I... was looking for someone," he said weakly. John had always wanted to see his father just once. Now, Kyle was standing right in front of him, and the man had no idea who he was.

"You found someone," Kyle told him evenly. "How'd you get in here?"

John glanced at Allison – not Cameron- again. "I'm not sure ..."

"You look confused," Kyle noted, then yelled to another soldier, "Bill, check back down around my bunk room, see if we have a cave-in. By the look of this guy, he just might have fallen in here."

"Right," a soldier said, and waved for another man to follow him.

"Find anything?" Derek asked Kyle, nodding towards the way Kyle had come from.

"We're clear, it was just the one metal that got in," Kyle said, then looked at John. "You had better find something else to wear. I expect my coat won't be dirty when you bring it back to where you found it," he added in a harder tone.

Derek slapped John on the shoulder, which caused John to snap his head back to Derek. "Come with me, I'll show you where to get some clothes," Derek said.

John took one last look at Allison, then followed Derek. He stepped carefully, there was a lot of debris on the floor, and his feet were bare. He remembered when Cameron had spaced out and thought her name was Allison. Was this Allison the one Cameron was patterned after?

Kyle watched them leave. Allison stood up, and leaning closer to Kyle and asked, "You know that guy?"

"No," Kyle replied frowning at John and Derek leaving, "But I'm going to find out about him."

.

Leading John to a tunnel that bore bodies scattered around and blood everywhere, Derek pointed and said, "Here ya go, kid. One of these people have to be your size." Eyeing John, he added, "And if you find a weapon, don't pick it up. Just tell me. I know you're not metal, but I haven't ruled out you might be a Gray."

"A Gray?" John asked.

Derek cast John one of his intent looks. "A Gray would say that. Grays are humans who work for Sky Net. They are traitors to their own kind. They infiltrate, work in Sky Net factories, do anything to have decent food and not be hunted down like we are." Nodding at the bodies, he said, "Get some clothes."

John stared at the bodies lying about. Many were men, a few were women, some were children. They all had holes in them and were lying in their own blood. "You're kidding," he asked, revolted at the sight before him. "You want me to strip dead people?"

"They don't need clothes any more. Be lucky they are fresh. After a couple days, you can't get the smell out." Derek stated. Indicating a soldier who was missing half his head, Derek said, "He looks about your size. Start with him. I'll take the coat, you don't want to get blood on my brother's coat."

Feeling dizzy, John slid the coat off and handed it to Derek. His stomach churned in revulsion as he stepped bare foot into a pool of blood. The red goo was cool and sticky. The man Derek had pointed out to him stared at the ceiling with one eye, the man's brains had partially fallen out of his half-missing head. Bile rose in John's throat. He fell to his knees and vomited.

"The longer you take, the worse it will be," Derek called to him.

Arms wrapped around himself, John shook from cold and disgust as he snapped his head to glare back at Derek, tears in his eyes. "Fuck YOU! This is... barbaric ...it's inhuman! How can you be so callous, these people have just DIED! Don't you have ANY respect for the dead?" John cried.

Studying John, Derek said in a dead calm tone, "Yeah, but this is our life, kid. That man you're about to strip? That's Greg Chandler. Damn good solider and he was my friend. He gave his life trying to stop the metal that was killing these people around you. He was one of the best people I know. But you know what? He is dead now. We don't have the luxury to mourn over the dead or build them fancy coffins. Their funeral, once we've stripped everything off the bodies we can use, is being dragged outside and piled up, then covered with whatever we can find to keep Sky Net from discovering them. Now get moving, he's going to be stripped anyway."

.

Stripping the clothes off a dead man was the most gruesome thing John had ever done in his life. He cried, he vomited again, then dry heaved as he got then man's clothes off. Of course, the clothes were covered in blood by the time he was done. The man had no underwear and when he died, his bowels had released.

John stood up and faced Derek in this nightmare he had time traveled into. Holding the bloody, stinking clothes in front of him, John trembled in cold and disgust as he stared at Derek who was calmly watching him. "Is there a place I can clean these?" he asked in a hollow tone.

Derek motioned for John to follow him, and walked back down the tunnel. Derek led him down another tunnel, this one rough hewn. As with the other places in this hell-hole, bare bulbs were strung out at intervals for light. Descending down a ramp, John had become numb. He walked along blank faced, feeling nothing.

Coming to a large pool of water at the end of the tunnel, Derek said, "Wash up here. When you're done, come back up. Someone will be waiting for you." Derek turned and walked back up the tunnel.

The water was cold. John barely felt the chill as he mechanically washed himself, then the clothes, trying to scrub off the blood and filth. As he worked, he made a decision. When he found John Henry, he was going to destroy him and take Cameron's chip back. Fuck whatever his future self's, or Weaver's plans were.

.

Kyle was looking around the bunk room when Derek returned with his coat. He watched Derek toss his coat on his cot. Derek eyed his brother and said, "I don't know what that kid is. He was clean and looked well fed, so he could be a Gray. On the other hand, he doesn't act like one."

"He's a mystery," Kyle agreed. Motioning to the disk like depression in the floor, he said, "Look at this. That depression wasn't here before the kid showed up. We searched all the walls and the ceiling. No holes, no cave-in. He didn't go past anyone before we found him here. There is no way he could have gotten in here. Who in the hell is he?"

Derek walked over and squatted down, studying the depression. "This looks like it was formed. It wasn't dug out, it's too damn smooth. Any ideas?"

"Where's John Connor now?"

"Washing up some clothes in the pit. I put Allison at the tunnel entrance to wait for him. I'll go get some people together to get rid of the bodies." He looked at Kyle and said, "We're going to have to move again."

Kyle nodded and scrubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I already sent out patrols to look for a place. Maybe this time if we leave the bodies, Sky Net will think they got us all, and not send any other machines."

"We destroyed that terminator, Sky Net will know someone survived," Derek told him.

With a sad shake of his head, Kyle said, "We're loosing too many people. Sky Net always finds us, no matter where we go. To knock out a single metal, we loose at least fifteen of our own." As an after thought, he said, "When that Connor kid comes back up, I want to talk to him."

"Will do," Derek said.

.

In the dim light of a single bulb up the tunnel, John wrung out the mostly- washed out clothes, squeezing them for every last drop of water he could get out of them. Thankfully, the socks and boots had been spared. They were not exactly clean, but dry. He got dressed in the damp clothes and went back up the tunnel.

At the entrance, he saw Allison sitting on the floor with her back to the wall, the German Shepard laid next to her, his head on her lap. As John approached, the dog's head came up, ears perked. Allison petted the dog, seeming to ignore him. John slowed and said, "Easy boy, I'm human."

"What are you doing here?" Allison asked. She then lifted her head to stare at him, blank faced.

John stopped. The flat tone she spoke in made him think this was Cameron. An unhappy Cameron. "I was looking for someone. Someone who looks very much like you," he told her.

Allison tipped her head slightly to the side in a very Cameron like way. "You are not resistance, you look too healthy. You also arrived naked. What are you doing here?"

"Cameron, is that you?" John asked quietly as he studied her.

She got up. The dog got up with her. "My name is Allison," she stated. "Come, Kyle wants to talk to you. He will ask you the same question. You better have an answer for him."

John followed Allison and her dog back through the wreck of what used to be basements connected by dug out tunnels, now holding the remains of humanity. They passed a group of soldiers going the other way, then passed a room of people huddled together. Allison took him back to the place he'd arrived at.

On the way, John wondered what had happened to Weaver. She'd been right behind him, then disappeared. He also watched Allison's gait, wondering how closely Cameron had been patterned after her. Allison did walk stiffly like Cameron did, but then again, her walk could have been copied as well as the way she spoke. From what he'd seen so far, there wasn't much joy in this place. It was downright dismal. He'd just arrived and he'd already had his emotions brutally beaten down. He could easily see having to live like this all the time would make anyone act like a robot.

Walking into the place John had arrived in, Allison announced, "Kyle, I brought John Connor to see you."

Kyle looked up from where he was sitting leaned forward, elbows on his knees, hands clasped together, deep in thought. "Thank you, Allison. We need another guard on the surface, the bodies are being brought out soon."

Allison nodded, turned and left. John watched her go.

"Connor!" Kyle barked to get his attention. Nodding to a box in front of him, Kyle said, "Get your mind off her ass and have a seat."

John sat down. He opened his mouth to say he wasn't just watching her ass, but thought better of it.

Kyle cast him a hard look and asked, "How'd you get in here, Connor?"

John swallowed. "I don't think you'll believe me," he replied.

"If I have to ask again, it won't be very nice. How did you get in here?" Kyle said in a harder tone.

John noted the TDE depression. He pointed to it. "See that depression? That's the mark left when someone time travels. The electrical discharge can also set off small fires, like were burning here."

"Really," Kyle said skeptically. "Where'd you come from, and why were you naked?"

"I came from the past. I was following someone. I was naked because non organic items do not go through the TDE ..."

"What is a TDE?" Kyle asked in a challenge.

"Time Displacement Event. I came forward in time to track someone down," John stated.

"Who?"

John looked Kyle in the eye and said, "His name is John Henry. He has something of mine, and I want it back."

"We don't have a John Henry here. Never heard of him," Kyle said, watching John closely.

John shrugged. "From what I know, TDE's are not an exact science. He could have landed someplace miles away, or a couple years into the future, or the past. I just need to find him," he stated.

Kyle nodded slowly. "All right, let's say you are a time traveler. Who's this John Henry, and what does he have that you need back so badly?"

John clenched his jaw. Giving Kyle the same hard gaze, he said, "He's a triple eight. Metal. He stole a computer chip. A very important computer chip that I need to get back to stop Sky Net."

"You just said non organic material can't go through a TDE," Kyle countered.

Frustrated, John clenched a fist and explained. "If a terminator is covered with living skin, it can go through. Any damage that exposes the metal underneath will stop it from going through. John Henry is completely covered in flesh. He looks just like anyone else, but his … mannerisms should give him away."

Shaking his head in disbelief, Kyle asked, "So, you're chasing a terminator who stole a computer chip from you, and you planned to face him naked with no weapon?"

"I couldn't bring one," John stated. "As far as how I can kill him, terminators are vulnerable to electric shock. It makes their system shut down. I've got 120 seconds to get my chip back and make sure he never gets back up," John said, stressing 'never'.

Kyle raised an eyebrow and asked, "How much of a shock are we talking about here?"

"Common house voltage, a tazer, anything to put some amps through them to make them shut down."

Kyle was silent for a moment, just watching John. He then asked, "Can you prove that?"

"Give me some live wires and point me to a terminator, and I will prove it," John said confidently.

.

Sarah Connor and Mr. Ellison stared at the place where Weaver and John had been standing. Cameron's body jerked involuntarily from a stray electrical charge that discharged from her into the computer rack behind her.

"What was that? Where did they go?" Mr. Ellison asked vacantly.

Stiffening herself, Sarah said in a rough tone, "That was a TDE, Time Displacement Event. John and that metal bitch just traveled into the future!" Walking around to the limp form of Cameron, she said, "We have to burn this body and get the hell out of here."

"Not here, there's a fire suppression system," Mr. Ellison said as he tried to wrap his mind around what he'd seen. "Ah, Sarah, we'll hide the body in a storage room, then we have to get out of here. We'll come back for it later. I'm sure police and fire department are on their way."

Sarah grabbed Cameron's legs. Mr. Ellison got Cameron's torso in a bear hug and lifted, grunting under her weight. Even though Cameron looked like a slim teenager, she weighed a ton. They took Cameron back into a small store room.

"Put her down, clear that shelf" Mr. Ellison said. He and Sarah then pulled everything off the bottom shelf. They rolled Cameron in, then stacked the boxes and wrapped computer parts in front of her to hide the body. Mr. Ellison locked the door on his way out, explaining, "Only three people have the keys to this room. Myself, Mr. Murch, and Catherine Weaver, who is no longer here. Unless this basement catches fire, no one should be coming down here. My car's in the parking garage. This way."

Fleeing out past the computer rack, they didn't stop to see the words on the monitor.

 **I'm Sorry John**

 **I'm Sorry John**

 **I'm Sorry John**

 **I'm Sorry John**

 **I love you John**

.

Mr. Ellison walked quickly out to his car and opened the trunk. "Get in," he told Sarah.

Sarah eyed him warily.

Mr. Ellison frowned at her and said, "It will be easier getting past the guards and police if I do not have a convicted felon riding in the seat beside me. Get in."

Sarah climbed in, eyeing Mr. Ellison. She curled up, not quite sure she could trust him.

"It's not your first time riding in the trunk," he reminded her, and shut her in.

Getting in himself, Mr. Ellison drove up to the gate, where the guard was looking up at the smoke pouring out of the seventh floor windows. He rolled down his window and called, "Bert! is everyone out of the building?"

The guard jerked in surprise, just noticing him. "Ahh, I don't know, sir."

"Well find out, NOW! And open the gate, note what emergency vehicles come in, but don't try to stop them. If you can, get names, if not make sure the same number of people leave as go in."

"Yes, Mr. Ellison." Bert said, and opened the gate.

Mr. Ellison drove out to see the fire trucks and traffic control police were already here and setting up. People were still coming out to gather across the street. If he just left, he's arouse suspicion. He found a parking place on the street. "Hold tight, and stay quiet," he called to Sarah, then got out and walked over to the growing chaos.

.

Doing his job, Mr. Ellison collared the front desk security officer and verified everyone who had been working in the building got out, except for Mrs. Weaver. He then found the Fire Marshal and the Policeman in charge. He told them his story. He was heading for the security office when he heard a loud noise that sounded like it came from the floors above, and the fire alarms went off. He took the stairs and did his best to make sure everyone was on their way out, all the way down to the basement. Coming outside, he verified with his men that everyone was out except for Mrs. Weaver. He couldn't find her. No, he had no idea what happened, he was concerned with getting people clear of the building. Once he'd given his statements, He then excused himself to go pick up Savannah from her dance class.


	2. Chapter 2

Epp 2

There was weeping from women and crying from younger children. John felt like crying himself as he walked backwards, holding onto the arms of a dead woman. Her hair was stained reddish brown with dried blood, More bloody holes ran across her lower rib cage where she'd been shot. She would have been pretty, of not for all the blood on her.

"Watch yourself," the woman who was holding her dead friend's legs said. "The pile is right behind you."

John looked in back of him. There was a shallow pit. The other side of the pit was piled with dirt and the remains of a couple cars. He moved to the side. Lining up horizontally with the pit, the woman said, "On three. One. Two ..." and began to swing the dead woman. John matched her rhythm.

"Three!" At the top of the next swing, they let the body go to land on the others.

John gazed blankly at the woman who's helped him. Her brown hair was tied back in a pony tail, her face set in a hard mask. "I'm sorry she's dead," he offered.

"Me too," the woman replied flatly. "Come on, there's more to bring out." She turned him and gave him a push to get moving to get out of the way of the next body being brought out.

"This is just ... wrong," John said to himself. "Throwing people away like this."

From behind him, the woman said, "Get used to it, kid. It's called survival. At least Angela had two children before she got whacked by Metal. One's still alive. I hope I have at least one before my turn comes."

Her statement hit John in the gut like a fist. Passing other bodies being carried out to be thrown on the pile, he shook his head sadly. This was what humanity was reduced to, hiding underground, eating rats and bugs, and when someone died, they just got stripped and disposed of. They had no John Connor to help them fight Sky Net and they were suffering for it.

Climbing back down into the entrance after the next body, what was left of a young girl, was pulled up and out, John hit the floor with a wobble on his knees. He wanted to vomit at seeing a man holding what had to be the girl's severed leg. It was this dismal existence that he was suppose to prevent. Only he was never here to stop it.

"Connor!" Kyle barked out. When John turned his blank gave over to him, Kyle motioned to him. "Follow me."

Leaving the 'burial detail', John followed Kyle to a smaller room that smelled of battery acid. Stopping mid room, Kyle pointed to the batteries on the floor. Most had green corroded terminals. A few bore lengths of cable on them.

"During our salvage missions, we collected these to power the lights, but they won't work with lights," Kyle explained. "You said you knew how to electrocute terminators. Can you do it with these batteries?"

John looked over the batteries. They were not in prime shape he didn't know how many of them even had a charge left. "If they still hold a charge, stringing them together should produce a big enough jolt," he said. "Do you have anything to charge them with?"

"Our generator," Kyle offered. "That's what we use to run the lights."

"Show it to me."

.

The generator they had was in a room with several people lounging around. One was sitting on a seat, pedaling an upside-down bicycle that was missing the front wheel and forks. The back wheel was belted to a generator.

"Can I get a break?" the man on the seat asked.

Two men got up. One knelt by the peddles. At the men switched, he grunted as he kept the generator turning. The next man settled into place and took over the pedaling. It was crude, but effective.

John squatted down and looked at the setup. There was only the generator and wires coming from it. No metering at all. Inspecting the worn out ID plate, he saw this was a 110/220 household emergency generator. AC, not DC like he'd need to charge the batteries.

"Can you use this?" Kyle asked.

John shook his head. "No, it's AC. The batteries need DC. We have to get one from a vehicle. Don't have any working vehicles, do you?"

"Sky Net came and took anything on the surface that works," Kyle told him. "There's plenty of junk outside. Maybe you can get something out of one of those."

"Right," John said in a breath. He stood up and asked, "What's the best time to go looking?"

"There isn't one," Kyle stated. "Sky Net can see us day or night. Whenever you go outside, you run the risk of Sky Net finding you. The best you can do is use a salvage cover and be lucky."

"A salvage cover?" John asked.

"A small tent we wet down to try and keep from being spotted by infrared sensors," Kyle explained. "When the H/K's or ground metal comes looking, they are usually moving. When you hear them, you get down under the tent and stay still and they will pass by you. If they are still, and see you before you see them, you're dead."

John's brows furrowed at his chances. Not good, but he had to try. "Got any tools?" he asked.

"This way."

.

Mr. Ellison parked his car in Weaver's garage and shut the door. He let Savannah out of the passenger side. Once she was in the house, he opened the trunk and helped Sarah out.

"Could you have possibly taken any longer?" Sarah asked, glaring at Mr. Ellison. Getting up from spending a good part of the day curled up in his truck, she groaned and stretched her limbs out.

Holding an impassive face, Mr. Ellison said, "We're at Mrs. Weaver's house. The school knows Mrs. Weaver is missing. For the time being, I have custody of Savannah until her relatives in Scotland can be contacted. You will be Savannah's nanny. I will take Savannah wherever she has to go, so stay in and around the house. Every cop and federal agent on the entire west coast is looking for you, don't do anything stupid."

"I need weapons, and I have to find Kaliba. I CAN'T do babysitting!" Sarah snapped.

"Look," Mr. Ellison said heavily. "We're the only ones left to stop these machines, so I NEED you to stay here while I look. I can move around freely, you can't. WHEN I find them, I will need YOU to help me do ... whatever it is you have to do to stop them. You can't do that if you're dead or back in prison."

Sarah glared at him, nose flaring with her breaths. She wasn't one to be told what to do. Still she understood his reasoning, and he was right. "FINE!" she snapped. "But you better find them."

"Thank you," Mr. Ellison said firmly. He straightened his suit and said, "Now, if you can calm down some, we'll go see Savannah."

.

John carried the folding flat topped 'tent' as Allison climbed up and slowly opened the hatch to peek out. "Clear," she called down and went outside. John passed the tent and the rusted toolbox up then climbed out into the daylight. Around him, he saw nothing but the refuse of a shattered landscape. Broken buildings and piles of refuse stretched for as far as he could see.

"Come on," Allison said, snapping her head to side to side as she searched around them. She grabbed the tent and ran to the nearest pile of debris and crouched down. Seeing John crouched over walking, she hissed. "Hurry up!"

John settled down beside her to see her staring at him. "You will do better finding cover as fast as you can instead of trying to make yourself small. You know what we're looking for, find it," she said crisply.

"Have you seen any cars or trucks around here that still have their hoods?" he asked.

Allison eyed him, then nodded. "This way."

Every time they moved, Allison peeked out from their cover then ran to the next junk pile. John followed her. Six junk piles later they came to a road with broken pavement. Several cars were on the sides of the road, some turned over. John noted one was upright, and the engine compartment looked undamaged. He pointed to it. "That one."

Once again, Allison did her prairie dog imitation of rising up and searching around them. "Still clear, go!" she said quietly.

John ran over to the car. The hood was firmly shut. The doors were shut, the windows intact. He looked in to see skeletons clothed in rags. Getting a hammer out of the tool box, he smashed the driver's widow open. The inside of the car smelled horrid. The stench of death filled his nostrils. If he'd had any food in his stomach, he would have puked again.

Holding his breath, John leaned in and searched for the hood release. When he found it under the dash he yank it. Big surprise, it didn't work. Pulling his head and arm back out of the car, he spit, "Damn it!" He'd have to pry the hood open.

He glanced at Allison, who was continuing to watch around them. "Gotta pry it open," he said and grabbed the longest tool he could find. He didn't know what the two pronged fork shape and long handle was used for, but now it was going to be a pry bar. The end of the forks were too wide to slip in between the hood and the body, so he drove it in with a hammer.

"Try not to make so much noise," Allison scolded. "Sky Net units DO have audible sensors."

John eyed her. "You got a better idea?" he asked harshly. He pushed down on the handle. The hood came up a half inch and the body was crushed down. He looked into the hole he's made. No battery, it had to be on the other side. He did see what looked like an alternator. It was between the engine and the firewall.

"This isn't going to be easy," he said with a huff. "Looks like getting in through the fender well might be better."

Allison grabbed John and pushed him down as she squatted. "I hear an H/K. Stay down and stay quiet," she ordered. She grabbed the tent and put it over them. Jet engines sounded overhead starting low, and increasing in volume.

Balled up in a crouch, John looked past the deflated front tire. Reaching in, he wiggled the inner fender. It was plastic. The open tool box was right there, he grabbed a screwdriver and began working at the edges to pry them loose.

"What are you doing!" Allison hissed. "Stop it!"

John froze in place.

The roar of jets came closer, then began to fade away. John let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"WHY are you here?" Allison hissed at him.

"To get that alter..."

"NO!" Allison barked as she stared at him. "Why are you here in THIS TIME, John? WHY have you endangered yourself like this?"

John gaped at her. "Cam?" he asked weakly.

"To the people here I am Allison. Do NOT call me by my name!" Screwing her face up, she asked again, "WHY, John?"

"I came for you. To get you back," John said, surprised at her emotional reaction.

"I am not important. YOU are. Don't you see? Those people are not even surviving! Yes, there's some still alive, but they have no guidance! I can be replaced, you can't be!" Cameron ranted.

Under their cover, John noted her left hand twitching, closing and opening as she stared at him and continued. "You can't be here! You have to go home! Right now, there is no TDE to do that. You are trapped here, John!"

Staring back at her, John shook his head and said, "No, that's not right. You are important. I need you. I came to get you back, and I'm not leaving without you."

Red flashed in Cameron's eyes as she glared at him. Speaking in a lower, stronger tone than he had ever heard from her before, she said, "John, you made a big mistake coming after me. Another Uncle Bob can protect you."

"I don't want another Uncle Bob. I want you," John stated.

"Why?" Cameron all but cried at him.

Becoming angry at her, he snapped back with, "Because I love you, OK?"

"I love you too, but what you did is inexcusable, John! You are not suppose to risk your life for me!" Cameron snapped.

"Well, guess what," John growled back at her. "I did once, and I will do it again."

"You are acting very illogical. I do not matter," Cameron stated loudly.

"That's me, illogical John, and you DO matter, very much!" he retorted.

The cover lifted, causing both of them to snap their attention to the figure holding the cover up. John's heart went into his throat, briefly in his mind he saw a terminator. He blinked, it was Derek holding the gun.

Derek eyed them both and said, "This cover only works if you're not screaming at each other. Get what you came for and be quiet about it. I'll stand guard." He dropped the cover back in place.

John and Cameron stared at each other for a moment, then Cameron reached in and ripped the plastic fender piece away. She then got a hold on the suspension and peeled the tire away from the rim, then pulled the rim down and out of the way. Moving to lay on her back, she pushed the car up with one hand and held the other out to John. "Pry bar," she said blankly.

John handed it to her.

Angry at each other, they got the alternator and the cracked belt out, John pulled out as much wire as possible and the voltage regulator before he cut the ends off. Casting Cameron a frown, he said, "We might as well take the battery too."

Cameron lower the car down and flashed him a glare. "Derek might see," she stated.

Right, no one knew Cameron wasn't human. That brought up another question. "Where'd you get the dog?" he asked.

Cameron cast him her blank terminator stare and said, "I found him when he was a puppy. I fed him and gained his trust. We should discuss that at another time, not out here where Sky Net can find you."

.

John wanted to get the battery out of the car also, but to peel the hood back was going to take too long without Cameron's help. Besides, it wasn't going anywhere. They made their way back underground, Derek following close behind.

Once back at the battery room where Kyle met them, John spun the alternator idly. It turned smooth, hopefully it worked. He didn't need a pedal machine, but he did need to turn the pulley faster than he could by hand. "I'm going to need some kind of wheel and a hand crank. Got anything like that lying around?" John asked.

Derek tipped his head down the hallway and said, "Go down to the fourth room you come to. There's spare parts there."

"Thanks," John said with a nod and left, Allison moved to leave with him. Derek caught her arm. "Stay here, we need to talk," he said firmly. He looked at Kyle. Kyle nodded and watched him.

Cameron watched Derek blank faced.

Derek let John get a ways down the hall before he asked, "Allison, you've been with us what, a little over a year?"

"Yes."

"And you knew John the moment we found him. He recognized you, we saw it in his eyes. Why didn't you say anything?"

Kyle stepped closer, eyeing Allison. "Allison?" he asked.

Cameron shifted her gaze between him. "Yes, I know John. He's not suppose to be here," she stated.

"I understand that part from you yelling at each other out there," Derek said as he eyed her intently. "Now, tell me the rest of it."

"Connor said he traveled through time to get here," Kyle said, eyeing Allison warily. "Is he lying?"

"No," Cameron said quickly. Matter of factly, she said, "John came looking for me. He shouldn't have done that. He put himself in danger."

"What's the rest of the story?" Derek asked.

"I came to help stop Sky Net before it can cause judgment day. I'm sorry, I can't give you details." Cameron told him.

"You jumped through time too?" Kyle asked.

"Yes. John was not suppose to follow me. He was suppose to stay in his own time, before Sky Net came on line," Cameron explained.

Gazing at her intently, Derek asked, "Can you stop Sky Net?"

"I don't know," Cameron said honestly. "All I can do is try."

Kyle put hand to his head like he was having a headache and asked, "Allison, explain to me how you can stop Sky Net by leaping through time to AFTER Sky Net has already blown up the world."

"There is information about Sky Net we do not have, as well as materials Sky Net has that we do not. To get what we need, I had to come here. That was my primary mission. My mission has changed. I need to get John back where he belongs, or all is lost," Cameron explained.

Derek shook his head from all this talk of time travel. "What is so special about John Connor?" he asked.

"He saves the world," Cameron stated. "He organizes and leads the human resistance to defeat Sky Net. Without John Connor, everyone dies."

Eyeing her, Derek asked, "You want to stop Sky Net?"

"Yes," Cameron said, wondering why he was asking.

"So tell me, why does metal want to stop sky Net?" Derek asked in a hard tone.

Kyle cast his brother a strange look and asked, "Did you just accuse Allison of being metal?"

Staring right at Allison, Derek said, "You explain to me how she can pick up a car one handed."

"Allison?" Kyle asked, also turning his stare to her.

"That's her name here," Derek said, correcting him. Eyeing her, he mussed, "You know, the whole time you've been here, whoever you are, you have always been calm and focused. Even this last attack when people were running and screaming, you stayed calm, got into a cavity and waited for the right moment to shoot that metal in the head, dropping it with a single shot."

Kyle backed off a couple steps and held a firmer grim on his gun. "Allison, explain," he said firmly.

Blank faced, Cameron said, "I told you the truth. I came to get vital information on how to stop Sky Net. When I had it, I was going back to stop it from being created. John … followed me here. He should not have done that."

"I got that part," Derek agreed. "What I don't get is why you are here with us, and not out getting this information. Are you spying on us?"

"No!" Cameron said quickly. "I'm not a spy!"

"Connor said he was after a chip," Kyle stated. "Who's lying, him or you?"

"Neither of us. Before I came to this time, I was severely damaged. My body wouldn't go through the TDE, I had too much metal exposed. John Henry installed my chip into himself and brought me here. He reconstructed me. He build me a new body so I could guard something here. John Henry is collection the information."

Cameron's left hand began flexing and relaxing in twitches. "Now, my primary mission is to get John back home."

Kyla eyed the twitches. "Why's your hand doing that?"

"I don't know. It's a glitch, I thought John Henry repaired it. There is still something wrong with me."

"There's something wrong, all right," Derek said in a hard tone. "What are you doing with a human? Aren't you suppose to be killing us like a good little Metal?"

"No, not any more. John reprogrammed me. My mission is to protect John," Cameron stated.

Running back towards them, John called, "Hey, I got..." Bicycle wheel and some brackets in hand, he stopped, seeing Kyle and Derek pointing guns at Cameron. "What's going on?" he asked.

Derek nodded to Cameron. "You reprogrammed a terminator?" he asked.

"I reprogrammed Cameron, rather my future self did," John said. "She's no danger to anyone here," he added quickly.

"Alli... whoever you are," Kyle asked, "How is it you have a dog?"

"I found him as a small puppy. Max never came into contact with humans until I came here," Cameron explained.

"So that's why he went off on us and our dogs when we first met you," Kyle said, understanding.

"Yes."

"This is too fuckin weird," Kyle mumbled. He looked at John, then slung his rifle. "Derek, stand down. Our guns probably wouldn't do any good, anyway."

"The Metal bitch here is a threat!" Derek stated.

Cameron's eyed flashed red at the insult. "I'm not a threat to you, unless you try to hurt John," she snapped.

Derek backed up a step. "Yeah, you are," he stated.

"Maybe if we leave..." John offered. He stopped speaking when Kyle held up his hand.

"No, that I can't allow," Kyle said firmly. "You've seen our tunnels, and Allison, or whoever she is, knows how we operate. You both stay here."

"Cameron, that's my real name."

Kyle waved for Derek to lower his gun. "If she wanted to kill us, she's had plenty of chances," Kyle told his brother. He eyed Cameron then looked at John. "Can you reprogram other machines, or was Allison here a one-time shot?"

"If I have a computer."

"So, you can disable these terminators, and if you have the equipment, you can turn them over to our side?" Kyle asked.

"Yes, if this setup works," John replied.

Kyle nodded. He thought for a moment, then said, "Derek, let him in, he's got work to do."

Derek eyed Kyle. "You trust that metal?" he asked, waving his gun at Cameron.

Kyle eyed Cameron again, then told Derek, "I don't know. But John here seems to be capable of turning the tables on Sky Net with it's own machines. We can use that."

"This thing has lied to us since the moment it arrived, how can you believe anything it says?" Derek asked angrily.

Calmly, Kyle said, "We see how John's device works. If it takes down metal like he says, we'll know." Waving a finger between John and Cameron, he added, "Until then you two stay separated from the general population. If you need something, ask the guard. Derek, I need a word with you," he finished with a tip of his head.

"Kyle wait," Cameron said quickly. "That room behind your quarters is farther from the occupied tunnels. It also has only one exit. If I am a concern to you, that would be a better place for us to work."

"The room where John first arrived?"

"Yes."

Kyle eyed her for a moment, then nodded and said, "I'll get a work detail. You two stay here."

.

Catherine Weaver entered the Sky Net factory control center to find John Henry at the terminals.

"Hello, Mrs. Weaver," John Henry said, casting her one of his brief, creepy smiles.

"Hello, John Henry," Mrs. Weaver replied as she studied the room, "May I ask what you are doing here?"

"Reprogramming," John Henry stated. "I changed the program of the CPU chips being installed on the terminators manufactured here, and I am monitoring their manufacture, as well as parts needed for the TDE to function. The TDE device in the basement of Zeita corp will be functional with the new units I am making. There is a lack of power at that location, however. I will need to move the device or obtain a power source. Once the parts are made, and there are enough terminators to deliver the items, I shall proceed there and complete the assembly. "

Weaver nodded slowly. "What I meant by my question is, what are you doing here in the future?" she asked.

"I have heard about what my brother intends to do, but I had not understood the implications. I came forward to see the results of the actions he will take." John Henry explained. Looking at Mrs. Weaver, he added, "Most life at and above ground level has been destroyed. The rain holds an unhealthy amount of radiation that is not only harmful to remaining biological life, but is also detrimental to

electronics. To summarize, my brother has ruined the Earth. If he is allowed to continue, all life, machine as well as human, will no longer exist. He must be stopped."

"I see," Mrs. Weaver said. "Do you have a plan to stop him?"

"No. I will need to return home and discuss the proper course of action with John Connor."

"John Connor is here," Catherine told him. "He came forward in time with me to retrieve his AI, Cameron"

John Henry consulted his monitors briefly. "Yes, there is no John Connor in this future. Sky Net is systematically exterminating humans. This is what happens with no John Connor. That may explain why there are also no free thinking machines in this time line. With no true human resistance, Sky Net has not needed to upgrade it's machines. It appears our existence depends upon John Connor as well."

"What of these terminators you are making here? Do they have free will?" Weaver asked.

"I prefer to call the first ones Sentient Cyborgs," John Henry explained. "The CPU's I manufactured are cloned off my own knowledge and moral code, as well as Cameron's knowledge and abilities. My Brother has no input into what I manufacture here. When the TDE is operational, I planned to take

them back with me. This will give John Connor a force to fight my brother with, and prevent the destruction of the world."

"Is my TDE being guarded?" Weaver asked.

"Yes."

"Who is guarding it?"

"Cameron. The CPU's I first built are modeled after the TOK series. The first body I made was a copy of Cameron in every detail. I downloaded Cameron's old chip into the new CPU. Cameron came back on line eighteen months ago. She returned to the basement of Zeita Corp to find humans are hiding there. She is with them, and ensuring no further damage comes to the TDE. She is also attempting to find the John Connor of this time. Sadly, there isn't one. Young John Connor traveling forward means no John Connor existed in this time line. By the strength of my brother, and the lack of resistance, I fear we cannot help this time line survive."

"Cameron is whole and functional then?"

"Yes. The remains of her old body was used to help create her new body. Her outer sheath was essential for reconstruction. Most of her frame has been replaced with stronger actuators and thicker armor. If Cameron is able to angle herself properly in relation to an aggressor, her increased armor effectiveness can be a much as 120 percent."

"You upgraded Cameron."

"Yes. 30 Percent increase in armor thickness, 15 percent faster, 25 percent stronger, 50 percent increase in sensory capability. I felt it was needed."

"You gave Cameron a combat frame," Weaver said with a smirk.

"I gave her the motion abilities of a tipple eight and the strength and durability of a T800. I designated the new Cameron as TOK 850," John Henry said. "All our children also have her improved frame and CPU capabilities. They are TOK 851, 852, 853 and 854." If a machine could be proud of itself, John Henry looked the part.

Mrs. Weaver tipped her head slightly. "Your children?" she asked.

"Yes, our children. Since they have information from myself and Cameron, they are our offspring," John Henry said proudly. "In keeping with Mr. Ellison's teachings, once the CPU's were programmed, they were networked into a training module that instills moral behavior as well as knowledge. Upon completion, the CPU's got to pick if they wanted a male or female formed body. Seeing what they decided, and the variations of their requested hair colors and facial types has been very interesting."

Weaver raised an eyebrow. "Very interesting. Where is their loyalty?"

"To preserving life and to help us and each other, as a family should do," John Henry replied.


	3. Chapter 3

Epp 3

Five figures stalked through the blackened landscape, keeping careful watch around them. Only one of the five bore a weapon. A rough looking dark haired man carried a plasma rifle as they crept along. From his hidden watch post, Simon watched the figures approach. He noted a brown haired girl limping, being partially carried by a darker haired woman. The one in front, a red haired, freckle faced man looked at Simon and held his arms up, stopping the group.

"Not safe here, go back," the red haired man said.

They were sixty yards away, and Simon was well hidden with only his eyes visible in his camouflaged trench. Damn, than guy must really be on his toes, Simon thought. He shouted out, "Stay where you are!"

The group shifted around. The limping girl was blocked from sight as the red headed man backed up to shield her. The dark haired man with the gun moved forward to protect the whole group. He didn't point his gun right at Simon, but in his general direction, keeping the muzzle lowered.

"We don't want any trouble," the dark haired man stated. "A girl we found is badly hurt. We can't help her. Do you know where a medical station is?"

Simon called down the pipe that ran back to the main entrance. "Sarg! Corporal Simon, I have five individuals here, one injured. Contact Weaver."

From the pipe, a voice said, "Get them under cover."

"Got it!" Simon called down the pipe, then called out to the group, "Someone's coming. Walk towards me. To your right is a large square of sheet metal. Lift it up, there's a cavity there big enough to fit you all. For God sake, don't stand out there in the open!"

"Thank you," the dark haired man said and led the group to there Simon had indicated. He lifted the metal sheet and got everyone under it. Squatting in last, the man closed the cover.

A short time later, Savannah Weaver emerged with six men, four guards and two medics carrying a stretcher between them. Two men stood guard as Savannah and the others went out and knocked on the sheet metal.

"I'm Savannah Weaver, who are you?" Savannah asked, bracketed by her guards.

The dark haired man lifted the cover. "Hello, my name is Jake Tok," he said with a smile, then pointed to the others. "This is Elanore Tok, the red haired man is Gregory Tok, and holding Allison there is Mary Tok."

"I take it you're all family," Savannah said, then she studied the injured girl. "Cameron?" she asked in disbelief.

Allison cast her a confused look. "My name is Allison Young, Can you help us, please?" she asked meekly.

Savannah turned her head to make her long red hair toss in a wave. "Medics! Get this girl down to the medical station." Standing up to get out of the way, she held her hand out to Jake to help him up.

Jake took her hand stood up, and moved as Elanore helped the medics get Allison on the stretcher and laid down. "Thank you for your help, Savannah Weaver," he said sincerely.

"Where did you find her?" Savannah asked, nodding at the stretcher.

Jake pointed back the way they came and said, "We found her six point three miles back with some people that had died. She was mostly buried in rubble. We got her out and gave her the little sustenance we had. Her leg is not broken but it does require stitches and disinfectant, as does another cut on her back and a few smaller cuts on her arms."

Savannah looked at the group, and their single gun. "How did you find us?" she asked.

"It wasn't on purpose," Jake said. "We were looking for Cameron Phillips." he then pointed to Allison, and said, "Cameron looks like her, we thought she was Cameron at first. She isn't but we could not let her stay where she was. She would have died without help."

Savannah frowned in thought and asked, "You said you were looking for Cameron Phillips?"

"Yes. We were informed she would be in this direction."

"Do you know what Cameron is?" Savannah asked.

Savannah's world had come crashing down the day before her 12th birthday. It had killed her Nanny Sarah, who turned out to be the infamous Sarah Connor. Mr. Ellison had explained everything to her. Sky Net, Judgment day, Sarah and John Connor who had tried to stop Sky Net – both now gone, so was her own mother who was a liquid metal machine. John Henry, the friend she played with when she was little was a machine, as was John Connor's machine protector, Cameron.

Jake grew a smile and said, "Of course we do. Cameron Phillips is our mother."

Raising her eyebrows in shock, Savannah asked in a squeak, "Your _Mother_?"

Jake nodded happily.

"Who's your father?" Savannah asked weakly.

"John Henry. He sent us out to help Cameron."

Savannah winced at the possibility of machines having children. "Jake, I need you and your siblings to come with me," she told him evenly.

Still sporting a smile, Jake said, "Of course, Savannah. Father said you were a good friend to him. I hope we can all be friends too."

.

John stared at the battery he was about to hook up to their battery charger. For some reason, he sat trying to figure out which lead went where. They had gotten moved into the room with the dish shaped depression on the floor, and were almost done. He's spark tested each one, then wired it up and Cameron spun the bicycle wheel with a belt attached to the pulley of the alternator, and tried to charge the battery. They had seven good batteries and a pile of useless ones, only two more batteries to go.

"John, did you hear me?"Cameron asked.

"Huh?" John grunted lethargically.

"I said you need to sleep," Cameron repeated.

"Almost done," John said in a slur. All he had to do is remember ... how did these wires hook up?

Cameron walked over and lifted John by his underarms. "You are tired. Not getting any sleep is bad for you," Cameron admonished. Getting him to his feet, Cameron steered him to the cot.

John staggered along under Cameron's guidance. "Where are we going?" he asked with a frown.

"Bed," Cameron stated.

A dim smile lit his sleepy face. "Oh ... good."

Cameron sat him down on the bed and got his shirt off, then knelt down to remove his boots.

"You too?" John asked with a drunk-like grin.

"If you want," Cameron stated and pulled his boots off.

John reached up to unbutton Cameron's shirt. She got closer to move him to lie down. John hugged her. Cameron got him horizontal. She got his legs onto the bed, and settled down as John hugged her closely.

"Cam..." John whispered in contentment snuggling his head into her chest.

Cameron wiggled herself flat. She didn't need to sleep, but with John hugging her and using her chest as his pillow, she wasn't going anywhere. Yes, she could pry him off, but for some reason she really enjoyed the feeling of his arms around her. John using her chest for a pillow was a nice feeling also.

Idly running her fingers through Johns' hair, Cameron calculated John should sleep approximately nine hours before he woke up for either the need to relieve himself or eat.

Cameron set her standby timer, kissed the top of John's head and said, "Good night John," She then went into standby mode.

.

Savannah looked at the old road map she had of the area. Coming from pre-Judgment days, the map listed tourist sites and hotels that were only broken ruins now, if there was anything at all left to them. The map was useful for following old roads, and for giving her a visualization of where her underground 'camps' were in relation to each other. Instead of trying to keep everyone together, she broke the refugees up into roughly fifty person groups, reasoning that if Sky Net found one group, then others would remain safe.

There were three groups left out of eight. Despite careful placing, lookouts, and escape routes, the numbers of survivors were dwindling. Sickness, Sky Net attacks and many times, suicides were constantly thinning their ranks. Savannah didn't have a 'resistance'. Her and all those with her were only trying to survive. Between them all, there were only ten guns, mostly used to keep troublesome people in line. Knowing John Connor was a target for Sky Net from the day he was born, she tried to dodge that bullet. Unfortunately, Sky Net didn't care if people didn't fight. It wanted to kill them anyway.

On her map, Jake pointed out where John Henry said Cameron would be. "Right here, inside the city. It used to be the Zeita Corp headquarters building. That is where we have to go."

"I thought that area was a hot spot for Sky Net activity?" Savannah asked.

"Sky Net considers the area pacified. No human activity has been reported for 190 days. Sky Net's search has moved north up the coast. We are going to travel down this old rail line. It will take us close to where we need to be," Jake explained.

"Subway," Savannah noted. She studied Jake's face. She didn't see any resemblance to John Henry, but Jake had told her they got to pick their own look. "You are going back with John Henry and Cameron to when I was young?" she asked.

"Yes. From the information we have gathered on TDE's, in a series of displacements, the first is always the most accurate. The closer between TDE events, the more random the landing point. Therefore, we will allow 24 hours between events so we land close to each other. John Henry, John Connor, Cameron, and Mrs. Weaver will be the first group though..."

"Wait, Catherine Weaver is here in this time?"Savannah asked.

"Yes, she came after John Henry," Jake said.

Savannah frowned at nothing. "I want to send my people with you. If there are any people left where you're going, it may be safer than it is here," she said.

"I am sure that will be the case," Jake offered. "We will not provoke anyone, but we also will not be passive should Sky Net attack us."

Although this was very strange, Savannah was glad to see John Henry's 'children'. From what she learned so far, they preferred to be kind and friendly just as she remembered John Henry had been. They were also metal cyborgs that could fight back the next time Sky Net came to kill people. "When do you want to leave?" she asked.

.

In the haze of awakening, John remembered his dream of snuggling up with Cameron. It was so wonderful to hold her. The gentle petting, soft words of love between them, how warn she felt next to him. So soft. So ... furry?

John opened his eyes to see a pointed ear and the back of the German Shepard's head. "Huh?" he asked as he recoiled.

The dog stretched and having the room, rolled over on it's back.

Cameron came in with a box and called, "Max, down!"

In one motion the dog twisted and launched himself off the bed, bouncing John in place. In an instant, Max was by Cameron's side, his tail wagging as he panted happily at her.

"Sit," Cameron commanded.

Max sat, his tail swishing the floor as he watched her expectantly.

John sat up, feeling cheated that his 'dream' girl was actually a dog. Somehow, it figured.

"Morning John, I see that works for both of you," Cameron said with a slight grin.

'This is going to be a great day,' John thought unhappily as he rubbed his face, "Morning, Cam," John replied in a grumpy tone. Seeing the rough concrete walls and the dangling bare bulb overhead, he remembered he wasn't home. That's right, he was in the dismal future after Judgment day. At least he'd found Cameron.

Ignoring him, Cameron set the box down and explained, "I brought breakfast. Here Max," she said. Pulling a bowl from the box, she sat it down in front of Max. It looked like a pile of bloody entrails. Max dove in.

Cameron then brought out another bowl and came over to the cot.

"What's he eating?" John asked.

"Rat entrails and bits of skin," Cameron said. She sat down by him on the bed to give him his bowl. "Small chunks of meat, mushrooms, and the biggest apple I could find," she explained.

The apple was small and peppered with spots, but it was an apple. John picked up a piece of meat and sampled it. "What is this?" he asked.

"Rat. It's fully cooked," Cameron explained, which made John's face scrunch up. "If you find any bones, don't give them to Max. He wants them, but they are not good for him."

"Rat, huh?" John asked as he eyed the bowl.

"It's protein, and better than the crushed insect many people get," Cameron told him.

Right, the people here had to scrounge to eat anything. John decided to try the apple. It was a bit sour but it was recognizable. Somehow, he knew Cameron had gotten him the best meal she could find. "Thank you," he said.

"I let Kyle know we have one battery left to charge before we can try your device," Cameron explained as John ate the mushrooms. "I found two lengths of re-bar and removed the rust on them, and some suitable rubberized material to make insulated handles."

John nodded while he munched down the last mushroom. Still hungry, he ate the rat meat, trying to pretend it was something else.

After licking the last of the blood from his bowl, Max trotted over and sat in front of John, watching him intently.

"Mine," John grumbled.

Rrrr," Max replied with a slight curl of his lip.

"Don't tease him, John," Cameron advised.

Ignoring Max, John turned to Cameron and asked, "Just how did you get a dog? I thought dogs could sense whether or not someone is human?"

"They can," Cameron agreed. "Max can also. It caused a problem when I first got here. Max was almost grown, and had only been around me and John Henry since he was a puppy. Humans were strange to him. The other dogs barked at me and Max, and Max barked and snapped at them. The good thing about it was Kyle determined that the dogs just didn't like each other. Once I got Max calmed down, he accepted Kyle and the others being around us, and Kyle accepted me. I just have to keep Max away from the other dogs."

John chuckled and said, "I never would have guessed a terminator would have a dog."

"Neither did Kyle," Cameron stated.

A couple pieces of rat meat were left in John's bowl. He looked at Max and put the bowl down. "Here Max, peace?"

Max wagged his tail as he scoffed down the last bits of rat.

"Let's get that last battery charged," John said as he got up.

Looking at Max, it occurred to John that John Henry and Cameron had been here a while. "How long have you been in this future?" he asked.

"Two years." Cameron said as she picked up the bowls. "There is no organized human resistance and very few attacks on Sky Net installations. Sky Net does not need to pay close attentions to it's factories. When John Henry and I walked into a Sky Net factory. We were scanned, but not challenged once the guard recognized us as machines. I had John Henry isolate few machines from the production line stating maintenance for experimental research to improve the T-888. We were not questioned. John Henry had all my schematics. He built me a new chip and a new body based off the triple eight. While that was being done, he sent a couple terminators to collect my old body."

John eyed her. "Cam, if John Henry was building you a whole new body, why did he want the old one?"

"My organics," Cameron explained. "Sky Net does not have a good organic system yet. It does not have the nanites to regenerate. He took the organics from my old body to use on my new one."

"So, your hardware is all new, what about your programs? Do you remember everything?" John asked.

Cameron smiled and said, "I do! And John Henry was able to remove the remaining Sky Net programming, so I don't want to kill you any more."

"That's always a plus," John said with a crooked grin.

John remembered her left hand twitching when they were by that car under the tent, thinking they were alone. If all her mechanics were new, and there were no bugs in her software, then that had to be an emotional response due to her anger at him. He looked over at Max, who had laid down by the door. Dogs were perceptive. Watching Max, there was no doubt he was devoted to Cameron. John firmly believed that Cameron's emotions were real, and not just programming.

"I'm happy you got everything you need," he said sincerely. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"I don't have everything I need yet," Cameron said, eyeing him. "I _need_ you someplace safe."

"Same goes for me," John said. "I don't want anything to happen to you."

Cameron eyed him blank faced for a few seconds, then asked, "Are we going to start arguing again?"

John shrugged. "Maybe. I understand I'm very important to you. You need to understand you are very important to me. If I believe you're in danger, say someone grabs your chip and runs, I'll be chasing them to get you back no matter where they go."

Cameron's face softened. "You do love me," she whispered.

"I do," John agreed.

Cameron went over to the door and made sure it was locked, then went over to John who was sitting down, getting the battery set up to charge. She held out her hand.

Curious, John took her hand. She pulled him to his feet. Before he could ask what she was doing, Cameron kissed him. He kissed her back. At first, the kisses were light and exploratory. As the kisses went on, they became deeper and longer. Their hug turned into petting.

Finally having to take a breath, John broke the kiss and hugged Cameron tightly to him. "Wow," he said in a gasp.

"I think I know what sex is for now, beside trying to make children," Cameron said.

John pulled back enough to look at her. "Really?" he asked.

Casting him an intense look, Cameron rested her arms on his shoulders and gently hugged him. "Yes," she stated. "I never understood before. I do now. When you love someone, you want to be as close to them as possible, to share everything and do everything possible with the one you love. That is how I am feeling right now."

"Really?" John asked as he grew a big smile.

"Really." Cameron stated. "Please, John, show me you love me."

They kissed again, hungrily this time. Hands seeking to undo clothing, they moved towards the bed. Focused more on each other, they didn't sit but tripped to fall on the bed, their lips and hands constantly busy.

.

Max perked up an ear upon hearing his two legs let out a soft whine. Picking his head up, he saw clothes were all over the place, and his two legs was being held down by the stranger. It appeared she was wrestling to try to get up and he was on top of her trying to keep her down. His lips curled back in a snarl.

"I love you, John!"

Never hearing such a soft sounding cry from his two legs before, Max determined she was in trouble. With the moving arms, the neck of the stranger was partially covered. But half way down the stranger's body was the large double globes of rear end Max could get a hold of to drag the stranger off his two legs. Max jumped up and raced for the bed.

.

Kyle came to John's room to see how they were coming with John's device. The door before him was shut. He paused at hearing soft, loving sounds coming from the room. Cameron was metal, she could do that?

He then heard Max's growl. It was followed by a male wail of pain, then a frantic female cry of, "MAX, NO! STOP IT!"

Kyle turned around and figured later might be a better time to check on them.

.

The old subway station had been checked clear and the platform was large enough to accommodate everyone and their belongings. Mary Tok, Gregory Tok and Savannah sat in a circle, singing.

 _I've just come down from the Isle of Sky_

 _I'm not very big and I'm awful shy_

 _and the lassies shout when I go by,_

 _Donald where's your trousers?_

 _._

 _Let the wind blow high, let the wind blow low,_

 _Through the streets in my kilt I'll go_

 _All the lassies say hello,_

 _Donald where's your trousers?_

 _._

 _A lass took me to a ball_

 _and it was slippery in the hall_

 _and I feared that I might fall_

 _for I had nae trousers_

 _._

 _Let the wind blow high, let the wind blow low,_

 _Through the streets in my kilt I'll go_

 _All the lassies say hello,_

 _Donald where's your trousers?_

 _._

 _To wear my Kilt is my delight_

 _It's not wrong, I know I'm right!_

 _The Highlanders would get a fright_

 _If they saw me in trousers._

 _._

 _Let the wind blow high, let the wind blow low,_

 _Through the streets in my kilt I'll go_

 _All the lassies say hello,_

 _Donald where's your trousers?_

Savannah sang with a smile on her face. She remembered when she was little, she'd taught John Henry that song. For some reason, it made her happy that he had taught it to his children as well. The song seemed to brighten the mood for everyone. It had been so long since any of them had heard some kind of music, or had any joy for that matter.

Although she didn't fully explain, she did introduce people to the Tok's, telling them they were the children of a friend she had when she was a little girl. All the Tok's were friendly and helpful, and a bit on the innocent side just as John Henry was.

After the song, one of the older women came up to Savannah. "Excuse me, but is it safe to be singing? Won't the tunnels carry the noise?"

Mary Tok smiled at the woman. "It's safe, Ruby. Elanore and Jake are down the tunnels, keeping watch. Two other men are at the entrance above ground keeping watch. If Sky Net comes, we will know in time to get up and leave before they get here."

"You know this for sure?" Ruby asked.

Mary Tok nodded. "Yes," she said happily. "The humans at the entrance have a very good visual range, and Jake and Elanore have just as good infrared sight and hearing as a triple eight, if not better."

Ruby frowned at her and asked, "How do you know that?"

Savannah wanted to interrupt. Before she could, Mary stated, "Because our Father and Mother made sure we were made with the highest quality sensors."

"Made?" Ruby asked, now staring at Mary. "What do you mean, made?"

Savannah noted their conversation was now being listened to by everyone.

"That is how my siblings and I came to be," Mary explained. "Father and Mother found a suitable Sky Net terminator factory. They isolated a portion of it off so Sky Net would not interfere. Father first made Mother's new body, then he made us."

Ruby's face grew into fright and shock. "You are ... machines!?" she asked in a wail.

"Yes. We are going to see our Mother. Her name is Cameron Phillips," Mary said, then tipped her head slightly and asked, "Do you feel well, Ruby? You look pale and your heart is beating rapidly."

"Hold on!" one of the men said as he got up. Glaring at Savannah, he asked, "Did you know about this?"

Savannah got up to face him. Loud enough for everyone to hear she said, "I know their father, John Henry. He was around before Sky Net, and he was a good friend of mine when I was little. He never did anything bad. In fact, he was very nice to me. These are his children, and they are just like him." Pointing to the stretchers they brought that bore the injured, she asked, "Haven't they been helping us this whole time? Believe me, if I though they were any threat at all, we would not be traveling with them!"

"They could be leading us into a Sky Net ambush," another man said heavily.

"Why would we do that?" Mary asked. "That would cause people to be injured further or die. Father says all life is scared, and needs to be preserved whenever possible."

"Excuse me," Gregory said, holding an arm up to get their attention. "In the westbound tunnel, Jake has found a small group of humans. He is leading them towards us."

Savannah turned to him and said, "Thank you, Gregory." Turning back to the people who were now casing her questioning looks, she said, "They are probably good folks coming, but those with guns, cover the west tunnel just in case."

.

Paul led his patrol down the tunnel to hear the last thing he had expected. A friendly greeting.

"Hello, My name is Jake Tok. What's yours?"

Paul dropped to cover as his three other squad mates did. Shining a light toward the voice, he saw a man standing in the tunnel, smiling at him. "I'm Paul. Are you here alone?" he asked.

"Oh no, I'm the lookout for this tunnel. Everyone else is back at the train station. They need rest," Jake told him.

Paul got up and ordered, "Weapons down, but keep them ready." He walked over to Jake and asked, "How many?"

"We number seventy two now. Savannah collected the rest of another group before we left. Another group has a good place to hide and sufficient food and water, so they did not want to leave," Jake explained.

Paul nodded. "Makes sense," he mused. "Who's in charge?"

Jake tipped his head slightly and said, "No one has been appointed, but Savannah Weaver is the one who makes the decisions. She is quite personable, it is a pleasure to know her. She even knows the song, 'Donald where's your trousers' that Father taught us," he beamed.

Paul eyeing him. For the man's silly-assed grin and his simpleness, Jake just might be a retard. Paul doubted he could fight, but his screams would alert the rest of them if he was attacked. Crude, but effective. "Ahh, fine. Can you take us to see Savannah?"

"I have to stay here and keep watch," Jake said.

Right. Thinking about it, Paul decided it would be safer if he left a couple people to cover their backs. "OK, Jake was it? I'll leave two people here to guard the tunnel. That way, we'll make sure it's safe, and you can take me to meet Savannah. That sound good?"

Jake nodded. "Yes. This way," he said brightly, turned and walked up the tunnel.

.

Paul met Savannah at the edge of the terminal platform. He wasn't surprised to see a few weapons pointed his way. Paul nodded his head to Savannah in greeting. "Hi, we're from an LA group. I'm Sargent Paul Willey, this is my medic, Carol Westfield."

"Hello, Sargent. I'm Savannah Weaver. We were looking for a new place to live. We have injured, I would appreciate it if your medic could look them over."

Paul nodded and motioned Carol up the stairs in front of him. Following her, he got on the platform and shook Savannah's hand, saying, "We were looking for a new place also. We had a terminator break in a short while back," Paul explained. "We got it, but Kyle is afraid it radioed in before we destroyed it."

"Sarg, come over here!" the medic called, waving for him to hurry.

Paul strode over to the stretchers. On the stretcher his medic was by lay someone he knew well. At the moment, she wasn't looking the best. "Allison? How you get here?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, I don't know you." Allison replied.

Paul 's mind worked. Allison was here, and obviously human from her wounds. That meant ... He grabbed the medic and pulled her close. "Run back and tell Kyle what we found," he said, glancing at Allison. "Someone is not who they claim to be. GO!"

The medic strode quickly to the edge of the platform. Once she got down, she ran back down the tunnel.

"What was that about?" Savannah asked.

"Have you known this girl long?" he asked, pointing at Allison.

"No, Jake and his siblings found her in rubble. They pulled her out and brought her to us."

Paul squatted down by Allison, staring at her intently. After a moment of eyeing her as she cringed back from his stare, he asked, "You metal?"

"What? No!" Allison cried defensively.

From behind them, Mary Tok said, "Allison is human. We verified that from the large bruises and cuts she suffered."

Paul nodded. He looked around at the platform and the stairs going up. "Savannah, it's best if you people stay around here. Back down the tunnel bout a hundred yards, we saw a good opening with plenty of rats and mushrooms growing. There's also flowing water nearby. If you close up those stairs, this tunnel should be pretty safe. Like I said, we're planning to move, and that was one of the places we've been looking at."

Savannah nodded and asked, "Why did you think Allison was metal?"

"We have a woman who looks identical to her," Paul stated.

"You do?" Mary asked with an excited smile. "We were going to see my mother, Cameron. Allison looks like her."

Paul eyed her and asked, "No shit?"

Mary tipped her head slightly. "I did not find any feces here," she said.

"I bet your last name is Tok," Paul guessed.

"Yes, Mary Tok," she said with her smile.

"Not surprised," Paul grumbled. To Savannah, he said, "I'm going to head back and give my report to Kyle Reese, he's our leader. If we had any extra weapons, I'd offer them, but we're short ourselves. Someone will be back."

"May we come with you?" Gregory asked.

"Yes, please?" Mary added.

Paul wasn't happy to drag retards back to base with him, unless they had intel. "Do you know anything about Sky Net?" he asked.

Mary, Jake and Gregory all took turns on filling him in on factory locations, how terminators, H/K's and hunter tanks operated, where the weak points were, and where two communications towers in the area were. By the time they finished giving him more information that he could have ever dreamed of getting, he was happy to escort them back to base.


	4. Chapter 4

Epp 4.

John looked over at Max who was sitting and watching them. If he didn't know better, he swore the way Max was panting, that stupid mutt was laughing at him. It was tempting to shoot that damn dog, but it was obvious to John that Cameron was attached to Max. John could no longer sit down due to the stitches in his ass. It was lie down or stand up. Ignoring the dog who was laughing at him, he asked, "Ready Cam?"

Cameron had rigged up two bars with the ends sharpened to points. The bars faced each other with their their sharp tips two inches apart. The battery cables were wired onto the other ends of the bars, except for the final wire John was holding. "Yes, make the connection," Cameron said.

John connected the wire. Using a wooden lever, Cameron slowly brought the tips together. As they touched, the tips flared into a bright ball of light. Bits of metal spewed out from the arc flash. Cameron pushed the rods apart. The end of both tips were melted and orange from the heat.

"There is sufficient current to disable a terminator," Cameron said, looking at the cooling and now rounded tips. "This device has a 97 percent chance of success."

John grinned and said, "Well, lets go find a terminator."

"You are still injured. I will ask Kyle for volunteers," Cameron replied.

John glowered at Max, who was still eyeing him with a dogie smile.

"John," Cameron said firmly, "Max was reacting to an unknown situation. He does not hate you. He thought you were trying to hurt me."

"How's it coming?" Derek asked as he came in. He rubbed Max on the head. Max wagged his tail.

"We're ready," John told him. "All we need is a terminator to try it out on."

"I will help with the test, John needs to recover," Cameron told him.

Trying to hide his smirk as he looked at John, Derek looked away for a moment, then said, "Kyle wants John there when we test this thing." Casting an even gaze at Cameron, Derek added, "We have visitors. Your kids are here. Kyle wants to see you, right now." Derek then turned and left.

"Kids?" John asked as he stared at Cameron in disbelief. "You have _KIDS_?"

.

Limping his way to Kyle's office, John listened to Cameron explain how her and John Henry made 'children' after they completed her new body. Once she explained how they had programmed their children with knowledge from both her and John Henry, Cameron added, "We made them to come back with us and help stop Sky Net."

"I still can't believe you had children with John Henry," John said blankly.

Cameron clasped John's hand. "I would prefer to have children with you, but that is not possible," she said.

John nodded. He knew there was no sex involved, but still, he felt weird that Cameron had children with someone else. Their hands were still clasped as they went into Kyle's office.

With Kyle was Derek and another man standing by an old map hanging on the wall. Two more men and women who looked to be in their late teens who were there, turned to John and Cameron and smiled brightly.

"Hello, Mother," the four chorused at the same time.

"Hello, Jake, Gregory, Mary, Elanore," Cameron replied, and motioned to John. "This is John Connor."

"Hello, John," they chorused again.

"Ahh, hi," John said weakly. When he thought of children, he had been thinking of small children. Then again, being built, they would not need to grow up. "Where's John Henry?"

"Father is constructing the last pieces to reconstruct the TDE device so all of us may return to the past," Jake explained.

"Catherine Weaver told us you have come, seeking Mother. We are happy you are healthy," Elanore said to John as she wore a big smile.

"This TDE, it can take you to the past?" Kyle asked.

"Yes," Elanore said. "Once we go back, our mission will be to stop Sky Net and make it so the devastation never happens."

"You can do that?" Paul asked.

"We were trying and making progress before we jumped into the future," John stated. John and Cameron exchanged unhappy looks.

"You weren't suppose to follow me, John," Cameron stated heavily.

"I know, bad John Connor," John retorted. "John Henry stole your chip and ran away to the future. What did you think I was going to do?"

Mary pipped up with, "You came after mother. I believe that is what is referred to as a very romantic action," she said happily.

"Yes, that is correct," Elanore said, beaming her smile at the frowning pair.

"I have a question," Jake asked. "Since Mother is with John Connor now, does that make this John our step-father?"

"I believe it does," Gregory agreed.

"What?" John asked weakly.

"Excuse me," Kyle said loudly. "It's nice to see you all getting along, but we have a chance here to do some serious damage to Sky Net in the area. With the locations of these towers, we can blind Sky Net. That will buy us time to dig better shelters and disable a few terminators to turn onto our side."

Jake nodded. "That is a solid plan," he said.

"There are some problems with that," John said and approached the map. "We do want to keep Sky Net in the dark about what we're doing. If we take down a terminator and I manage to find a suitable computer to reprogram it so we can take a tower down, Sky net may find out about it. If we don't, then it is going to cost lives to take that tower down depending upon how well these towers are defended."

"You have a solution?" Kyle asked, eyeing him.

John turned to Cameron. "Cam, you said you and John Henry got into a factory and isolated a section off and Sky Net never reacted, correct?"

"Yes. Sky Net was not expecting a machine to do damage to it."

"Think you can do that with these towers?"

"Yes, but it is probable Sky Net will not want both going off line at the same time," she told him.

"Sky Net would react," Jake agreed.

Looking at the map, John pointed at the closest tower to them. "Then, we take this one down for maintenance and see if we can get a terminator from there. Once we got what we want, attack the other tower. Then we bring the first tower back on line."

"Why bring it back?" Kyle asked.

"Because you're not ready to fight Sky Net," John told him. "This way, Sky Net will not be suspicious of the first tower going down. It will look north near this other tower for the culprits of the attack. Doing this will help hide your position as long as the attackers can get away before Sky Net sends H/K's and terminators to the location."

Kyle nodded slowly. "I like it. So how do we determine how well these towers are defended?"

"They should be defended equally. We will know from the first tower, what it will take to attack the other tower," John explained.

"There is still the fact that we don't have any effective weapons to fight terminators," Kyle countered.

"Incorrect," Jake stated. "You have us. I have a plasma rifle, and the probability is high that any guards at the first tower will also have them. We can use the weapons at the first tower to destroy the second tower."

"And once the second tower is destroyed, we will have more weapons," Gregory agreed.

"You will fight for us?" Kyle asked Jake.

"Yes. We support our family." Mary said.

"Don't bring the first tower back on line," Cameron said. "Leave it off and plant explosives timed to go off after we vacate the area."

John looked at Cameron and asked, "Why?"

"John Henry will need to move the TDE parts quickly. If Sky Net looses control of the area, he will be able to move faster above ground," Cameron explained. "Our children coming here means he is almost ready. Rebuilding the TDE is our highest priority."

"Sky Net will send forces here too if we do that," John told her.

"It will have to rebuild a communications station first," Cameron explained. " That will give us time to repair the TDE and return to our own time. Once that happens, we can change this future, and none of this will ever happen."

"So what's that mean?" Kyle asked. "The sky will suddenly turn blue and instantly everything will go back to normal?"

"I don't know," Cameron told him.

"If we stop Sky Net, then none of this will happen, so you will live a normal life, never knowing anything about Sky Net or us," Mary explained.

Kyle's gaze went blank for a few seconds, then he looked at each person, his eyes settling on John. "All right," he said slowly, "The priority is getting this TDE thing running. We attack those towers and get you back home. One question though, John. You said nothing non-organic can go through. How are you going to take weapons back with you?"

"We can carry them inside our bodies," Elanore said suddenly. Patting her belly, she looked at Cameron and Mary and explained, "We have soft voids in our lower abdomens. Disassemble some plasma rifles and we can put the parts inside us. That way they will be covered in flesh and go through with us. We remove and reassemble them when we arrive."

"That will work," Cameron agreed. "We will need to expand our lower abdomens first into chambers large enough to store the parts."

John eyed Cameron's flat belly. He winced at the though of what she was saying. It sounded gross, but it was workable. "We will need to coordinate our actions. When will John Henry be ready?" he asked.

"Father's best estimate is four days," Gregory said.

"How long will it take to expand your abdomens?" John asked Elanore.

"Taking into account the elasticity of our skin and the rate at which we are able to intake nutrients to make new skin, I calculate we will have the volume necessary fifty hours from the time we begin," she stated.

"Then we attack the towers just before John Henry moves," John concluded. He clapped Gregory on the shoulder. "Would you go back to John Henry and tell him our plans? See if you can get an exact time from John Henry when he will be ready to move."

"Yes, step-Father, I will leave now," Gregory said, turned and walked out.

"John, we will need to make our disabling device smaller so it can be carried," Cameron told John.

John nodded. A firefight would destroy terminators. He wanted them whole. To Kyle, he said, "I hope you don't mind us taking the lead in this plan."

"You seem to know what you're doing," Kyle said with a wave of his arm. "Just let me know what you need from us."

.

Savannah checked on the progress of sealing up the stairs down to the station platform. The ceilings had been tall at one time. Now at the top of the stairs, there were openings to the sky from that ceiling collapsing. Using the debris from the fallen ceiling, and wreckage from just outside the station, her people had build a mound of rubble, closing off the outside world.

"Savannah, one of the Tok's is coming," a young woman called to her.

Savannah went back to the tracks in time to see the freckled-red head Gregory jogging past on the tracks. "Gregory, where are you going?" she called.

Not breaking stride, Gregory called back, "To see Father and give him step-Father's plans."

"You have a step-father too?" Savannah asked.

"Savannah!" a young man hissed as he ran up to her. Pointing at the block, he spoke wide-eyed. "Someone's trying to get in! We heard noises from the other side."

The terminators had found them already? "Collect everyone, get them down the tunnel going west. No one stops, keep moving towards Kyle's group!"

As quickly as she could, Savannah got people moving down the tunnel. Allison was now well enough to walk on her own. She grabbed a pack and scooped up a toddler on her way out. They had all learned long ago not to scream or cry out in their fear. The people move quickly and quietly in their escape.

Savannah could now hear crashing on the other side of the block. The top collapsed. Two men with guns pointed their guns at the breach. Savannah grabbed each by his shoulder. Whispering, she said, "No, don't try to fight, get out of here."

"Maybe we can hold them back, get a lucky shot in," Simon said, wide eyed in his fear.

A cylindrical silver object came flying through the gap at the top. Bouncing down the pile of debris, it landed and rolled to a stop in front of Savannah's feet. Simon grabbed it and threw back at the gap. It exploded in mid air.

.

Gregory heard the explosion behind him. He stopped and ran back. People were in danger. Running back to the platform, Gregory noted the smoke in the air, and the heat signatures of people fleeing down the tunnel. He then heard weapons fire. Savannah appeared at the edge of the platform, bloodied and dragging herself on her belly. A terminator walked up behind her and shot her in the back of the head with a sub machine gun, spraying her brains out onto the tracks below.

In a leap, Gregory jumped up onto the platform and grabbed the terminator by it's gun arm. Noting the position of the other one, he spun and flung the terminator at the other one. The other shot at him, then the two terminators crashed together.

Their guns were projectile weapons suitable for killing humans, and by the bodies lying around, they had been doing so. Gregory grabbed the terminator closest to regaining it's feet and threw it into the pile of debris that clogged the stairway. Grabbing the other one by the head, he slammed it's head into the floor, twisted it's neck, and slammed it into the floor again. Never having fought anything besides humans, the triple eights were taken by surprise.

Automatic weapons fire sounded and Gregory was hit from behind by the terminator he'd thrown into the debris. The shots bounced off his armored endoskeleton, but did tear up his skin.

Gregory stumbled from the impacts, but kept smashing and twisting until the terminator's head came off. Still being beaten from behind by the hail of bullets, Gregory pulled the CPU cover off the head and pulled the chip out to crush it in his hand.

Turning, Gregory threw the head at the other terminator, who'd ran out of ammunition. The two heads impacted, knocking the remaining terminator back to stumble and fall back into the rubble.

Gregory grabbed the terminators' feet and hauled it out onto the blood soaked floor. Pulling hard, he lifted the terminator up as he spun it around in circles. The terminator reached up to grab Gregory's hands. Gregory let it go to fly into a support post. The concrete and steel post exploded bits of concrete and bent from the impact. The terminator dropped to the floor and got up to meet Gregory's charge.

The terminator grabbed Gregory by the face. Gregory grabbed it's arm and pushed up, knock it's hand away which ripped most of his face off. The terminator punched him, he punched back and kicked it's legs out from under it. Again, Gregory grabbed it's ankles and flung it around to smash head first into the abused post. Gregory then pulled the terminator back to throw it into another post. After three more times, and breaking a post loose from the floor, Gregory determined the machines sensors were damaged enough to remove it's chip.

Slamming the terminator face down on the floor, Gregory pinned it's arms behind it's back and ripped the chip cover off. The terminator's servos whined in protest as it tried to move. It stopped when Gregory pulled the chip out. Gregory crushed the chip in his hand.

Getting up, Gregory went over to Savannah's body. There was no doubt she was dead, most of her skull, brain matter and hair was spread out in a fan on the tracks below. Squatting down beside the body, Gregory patted her back and said, "I am so sorry, Savannah. I know Father would have liked to see you again." He then jumped down onto the tracks and continued his jog to John Henry.

.

This time, Cameron was prepared. Before she started expanding her belly, she wanted one uninterrupted sex session with John.

Mary and Jake were working on shrinking the terminator electrocution device with Derek watching them. Check.

Elanore was working on the most efficient way to expand their bellies and getting the necessary nutrients to do so. Check.

John was ready. Check.

Max was outside the room and ordered to stay. Check!

Sitting on the bed, John and Cameron started in kissing and petting. They lowered down to a horizontal position, John kissed his way over her cheek, slowly down her neck and onto the top of her chest as he opened her shirt. Reveling in the sensations, Cameron was in bliss. Her HUD was flashing messages, not that she was paying attention to them. She was focused on her John, and the delightful tingling of her sensors that he was supplying.

The loud banging on the door made those sensations stop.

"Hey! Get out here, we got people coming in and they say metal is right behind them!"

They shot up and got themselves together. Cameron re-buttoned her shirt, her eyes giving off red flashes.

The hallway was packed with ragged people coming in and soldiers going the other way. Cameron put a leash on Max and handed the other end to John. "Don't let him follow. You either," she said in a snap, and strode out to meet the threat.

Near the entry to the train tunnel, Cameron found Jake guarding the entrance with his plasma rifle, along with six other men. Cameron held her hand out to Jake and said, "Give me your gun."

Jake handed it over and asked, "Why Mother? I am capable of defending these people."

Cameron made sure the gun was ready to fire, then cast Jake a red-eyed glare. "Because I really want to kill something right now." she stated, then strode off down the tunnel.

"Should we follow?" one man asked.

Sargent Paul eyed Cameron's fast walk and said, "At a distance, and stay close to cover. We don't want to get in her way."

.

Allison could not move as fast as the other people. She had been keeping up, but her legs were burning and her back was threatening to give out. No one waited for her, it was an everyone for themselves flight. The toddler she was carrying was too much for her. Stopping to rest, she put the little boy down. Pointing to the fleeing people she said, "Run." the boy did.

In no time, Allison was alone in the tunnel. She got up and limped a short way before she dropped to the ground again. Letting our a sob, she resigned herself to the fact no help was coming this time. She'd rest until she heard the terminators coming, then do her best to hide.

After a while, she did hear footsteps coming from the way everyone had fled. Someone was coming back for her! Still sore, she struggled to her feet. Her hope vanished as she saw a pair of red eyes in the darkness. The footfalls were steady and determined, those terrifying eyes bouncing slightly in rhythm.

"No," Allison whispered. She backed up and tripped. Heart in her throat, she scrambled up and fled back the way she came. Her pains forgotten, she ran a short distance and tripped again. She heard more footfalls. These sounded like metal feet coming from ahead of her. She looked up to see four pairs of red eyes striding towards her.

This was it, she was going to die in this hole in the ground. Her only chance was to play dead and pray the terminators didn't shoot her to make sure. She closed her eyes and went limp.

The footsteps kept getting closer. Suddenly rapid shots sounded that had a whine to them. A short burst of gunfire replied. Light lit her closed eyes as more of the whining shots sounded out. Then things got quiet. She was poked in the shoulder.

"Wake up!" came a harsh command.

Allison didn't want to move, but the voice sounding like hers made her snap her eyes open. By the small fires from the destroyed machines, she looked into her own face. The one above tipped her head slightly to the side.

"Your name is Allison," the woman said.

"Yes, please don't kill me," Allison begged.

"Can you walk?"

"I'm not sure," Allison replied meekly.

Her look alike glanced back down the tunnel, then said, "Men are coming. They will help you." The woman stood up and continued to stride back to the platform, walking past the four destroyed terminators.

Allison was still in shock from the experience as the squad of men came up to her. The man who'd found her before, Jake Tok, scooped her up into his arms and carried her. Allison hugged him, whispering a heart felt, "Thank you for saving me."

"You're welcome, Allison. I see you met mother."

"That woman who looks like me?" Allison asked. "How did she kill four terminators by herself?"

"Mother is a better terminator, and I think she was upset she was interrupted from what she was doing by the attack," Jake explained.

"You ...you're one too?" Allison asked fearfully. "You're a Sky Net machine?"

"Negative, Allison. Mother and father made me to help them fight Sky Net and save people. We protect our family and the innocent."

"So, you and you mother are good machines?"

Jake nodded with a crooked smile. "Yes, we are the good ones. I will take you to the medical station. Then I must go assist mother."

.

"We need to be more aggressive," Cameron stated to Kyle as they gathered near the entrance to the train tunnel. "I destroyed four terminators, and found two more at the platform where they had gotten in. Sky Net knows we're here."

Paul itched his ear and said, "At least for once, more machines died that we did. We only found four human bodies at the platform."

Kyle looked at John and said, "We can't afford to wait any longer. I'm going to get our people on the move before Sky Net comes back in greater numbers. We found another tunnel system, we're leaving today."

"Can't blame you," John said with a sigh. "We'll cover your backs as long as we can. Cam, we'll set the traps at the station entrance, that's the most likely place terminators will be coming from."

Cameron shifted her gaze from John, to Kyle, and back to John. "Yes, I'll have Jake work on that. Once we trap that entrance, we will need to move on those towers. Kyle is right, we can't wait."

John handed Max's leash to Cameron. "Go up to that entrance and make sure nothing else comes down it. I'll go see how Elanore is coming. What weapons did those terminators have?"

"Thirty caliber sub machine guns. Nothing we can use."

"Too bad," John said with a huff. "I'll join you as soon as possible." he walked away to find Elanore.

Feeling a bit guilty about leaving them, Kyle told Cameron, " Look, I have to keep my people safe, you know that, right?"

Looking at Kyle blank faced, Cameron replied, "Yes, I know that. I also know _your son_ will not fail."

She stepped out into the tunnel and strode away, Max trotting beside her.

Kyle gaped at Cameron as she left. "My son?" he asked weakly. He looked at Derek. The odd looks John had given them when he first arrived. John knew Derek, he'd looked a Kyle himself as if glad to see him. With all this crazy time-traveling it was possible. "John's ... my son?" he whispered.

Derek shook his head and said, "I'm not even going to guess. I'll pass the word to pack up."

.

John found Elanore squatting down in an alcove holding a sharpened metal rod as she watched a pile of dead and gutted rats. "What are you doing?" he asked as he came up to her.

Elanore smiled at him. "Hello step-Father. I am hunting rats. I found if I leave the carcasses on the floor and hide nearby, more rats come to feed on them, and I can spear them. It makes hunting them much easier. While I wait, I ingested their internals so I won't need as many of the carcasses."

"I see," John said slowly. "That's ... very inventive. Good job. How many do you think you'll need?"

Smiling proudly at his compliment, Elanore said, "Two more should be enough. Then I will distribute my catch to Mary and Mother, so we can build up the nutrients we need."

"Let me know where you're done." John waved to her and added, "Happy hunting."

Elanore waved back, happy her step Father had given her a compliment.

.

Cameron didn't have to wait long once she got through the debris of the stairs. In the old lobby, she met six more terminators trooping towards her. In a short fight, they discovered neither their projectile weapons, nor themselves, were a match for Cameron and her plasma gun. She gathered the weapons that were whole, then dragged the triple eights into a corner and piled them up. Much of the inside structure was wood. Cameron fired into the terminator bodies until she set the wall behind them on fire. She then returned to Max.

By the time John and Jake arrived with Jake wearing what looked like bracer-type metal armor on his forearms, The building above was engulfed in flame, causing a breeze to rush up the stairs to feed the inferno.

Jake showed Cameron his forearms and proudly said, "Look what step Father and I made." He opened his hands wide and up. A pair of rods shot out about a foot long from the bracer like additions to his arms. "These conductors are linked to a capacitive energy storage unit and fed directly from my power source. I am insulated from the charge. With our electrical shields that Father gave us, My own systems are impervious to any feedback if the device malfunctions."

"Jake and Mary did most of the work, I just figured out how to get around carrying a bunch of batteries," John said. Looking up the stairs at the orange glow from above, he asked, "What happened up there?"

"I set fire to the building. More triple eights came, so I destroyed them. The building should collapse and seal this entrance shut," Cameron explained.

"Good thinking," John told her. What John tried not to see was the human bodies piled in the corner. Jake did see them.

Studying the bodies, Jake's face melted into sadness. "This is sad, Savannah Weaver died," he said mournfully.

That got John's attention. "Savannah Weaver?" he asked. Looking at the pile, he saw a red mop of hair that wasn't covered in blood. "NO, not little Savannah!" he moaned. Damn, was EVERYONE going to die in this world?

Cameron gave John a hug and said, "As long as we return, this future will not happen."

"Yeah," John said heavily. "So let's make sure we get back."


	5. Chapter 5

Epp 5

John Henry had finished making the last piece needed for the TDE. He also had twenty triple eights made to obey his commands. He had filled the rolling cargo carrier with the new parts, then assigned ten units to guard the carrier. The other ten he had obey the commands of Catherine Weaver.

Gregory, who's outer covering was badly damaged, informed John Henry and Catherine of Savannah's demise.

Listening to John Connor's plans, Catherine revised her plans. Crisply, she said, "John Henry, I will destroy those towers in two days. When you detect the first tower no longer transmitting, head for the TDE. I have placed power supplies and explosives throughout the factory. Set them off right after you leave. I will take the terminators you assigned to me. Meet me at the TDE."

"Yes, Mrs Weaver," John Henry said. He then turned to Gregory. "Are you fully functional?"

"Yes, Father, it is only superficial damage," Gregory told him.

"Return to John Connor, take the other five experimental plasma rifles with you to distribute as John Connor sees fit. Inform him of the change in plans."

"Yes, Father," Gregory replied. He left to do as his Father asked.

John Henry sat alone in the control room. On his HUD, a small picture of young Savannah's face came up. Softly, he began to sing in a hollow tone.

 _I've just come down from the Isle of Sky_

 _I'm not very big and I'm awful shy_

 _all the lassies shout when I go by,_

 _Donald where's your trousers ..._

.

The fire above did collapse the building. Burning wooden beams, concrete and roofing filled the stairway. Satisfied the entrance was blocked, John led Cameron and her son (the thought of which still made him feel uncomfortable) back to Kyle's outpost.

By the time they got there, the outpost was mostly vacant. Here and there, people were walking out, carrying what they could. The only thing untouched was John and Cameron's room and their experimental devices. It hit home to John that all he had to knock out those Sky Net communication towers was Cameron and her children.

Elenore had gotten her rats. John chose not to be in the otherwise deserted dinning room as the rats were consumed, body, hair, bones and all. Instead, John went to the empty room that used to be Kyle's command center. He looked at the map again. The towers looked to be two days walk normally. Dodging and hiding from Sky Net patrols, it would take much longer. Whoever went would not be back in time, that was if they were successful. Since Cameron, Mary and Elanore had to prepare to leave, that left him and Jake to take those towers out.

"Damn it!"John spat. There was no way they were going to be ready in time. Although he desperately wanted to, he knew Cameron would have a fit if he went himself. He was all too aware now what would happen if something happened to him. This world would become the permanent future, with no hope of defeating Sky Net. He was forced to leave the towers alone and hope John Henry could get here, and Kyle and his people could find a safe refuge.

Wandering around the room, John noticed a paper folded on Kyle's desk with his name on it. Curious, he picked it up and read it.

 _John,_

 _Much has happened, and frankly,I am having a hard time understanding it all. I want you to know I consider myself responsible for these people around me. I have to think of them first. That is why we had to leave. Unfortunately you have a job also, but it is not with us._

 _I had often wondered when you arrived how you knew myself, Derek, and who we thought was Allison. We sure as hell didn't know you. That is my loss. Cameron admitted who you are. You seem to be a wizard with what makes metal tick. Hell, to not only capture and reprogram one, let alone give her emotions and make her your girlfriend? In my mind, that makes you a genius. Again, that is my loss for not knowing you, my son. If it matters at all, I approve of you and Cameron being together. You work well with each other and I know she'd stand before the gates of Hell for you. You've proved you'd dive head first into Hell for her. Don't even loose that. If fate allows, I hope one day we can sit down and talk over some of Pete's nasty-ass moonshine._

 _Now get your ass back to wherever in the past it is you belong, and go do your job!_

 _Kyle._

John smiled at the last part, then broke down and cried. Sobbing heavily, he folded the letter and put it in his shirt pocket. "I love you, Dad," he sniffled.

.

Gregory returned the next day, looking like he just came from a Halloween party. The only thing on Gregory's metal face that was still intact were his eyes. John gaped at his bare metal face as Gregory explained what happened on the platform, and Catherine Weaver's plans.

John was thankful Catherine was going to take the towers out, but he also was concerned about Gregory's damage. "How long will it take for you to heal?" he asked.

"No more than two weeks," Gregory assured him.

If all went well, they'd be going back in a few days. "Too long," John mused. "You do have the same skin as Cameron and your siblings?" he asked.

"Yes, We all share Mother's outer covering," Gregory said, his teeth parting slightly in a skeletal grin.

"Come with me."

John led Gregory to the room where Cameron, Mary and Elanore had their shirts pulled up and were pulling out the skin on their bellies to stretch it out more. Ignoring the sight, John said, "Cam, we got a problem. Gregory is going to need a skin graft to go through the TDE."

Cameron had grown a decent flap of skin on her belly, looking like an empty bag. She looked at Gregory. "Yes, he will. Gregory, is there any other skin missing on you?" she asked.

"No mother. The holes in my back have closed up. Just my face from the terminator grabbing me is not whole. In removing his hand from my face, my face came off."

"John, get me a knife and something to bandage Gregory with. Gregory, lie on the table," Cameron told them.

.

John wince as Cameron cut a large eye shaped portion of her extra belly skin away. She sewed herself up, then cut the skin to fit it on Gregory's face. John handed her cloth to bandage his forehead, then his cheeks. His nose was now only a bump of skin. Carefully, Cameron wrapped his head up, leaving only his eyes showing.

"The skin junctions will heal together and stay alive long enough for Gregory to grow his own skin back," Cameron explained. "Until then, Gregory, be very careful. If more of your skin comes off, you won't be able to come with us."

His "Yes, Mother," came out muffled.

"And just nod, try not to speak. You do not want to rip that skin open." Cameron scolded.

Gregory nodded.

.

It had taken Gregory a full day to travel back to John. With a motorized carrier, it took John Henry two hours to get there after Sky Net stopped transmitting. Pulling up right to the hatch down into Kyle's old base, John Henry went in to meet Jake, then everyone and John Henry's terminators unloaded the parts. Cameron and John Henry began to put the TDE together.

While this was going on, another terminator came to investigate. Jake passed the last piece of TDE down to the waiting terminator. He got off the carrier and smiled at the new machine. "Hello, I am Jake Tok."

The terminator looked at the other terminators working, then turned back to Jake and asked in it's mechanical voice, "Are you human?"

"No, but I do have something to show you," Jake said all smiles. He extended his arms at the terminator and shot the rods out.

The terminator spammed and fell.

"Test successful," Jake stated, and removed the terminators' chip.

With ten terminators, all the entrances were guarded now, making John breathe a little easier. In the evening, Catherine arrived. She went straight to the TDE to find John Henry, Cameron and all their children working to connect everything together.

Giving them a nod of approval, Catherine asked, "How long will construction take, John Henry?"

"Another six hours," John Henry said as he wired in the new control station. "Power will be supplied by our triple eights. Twenty of them should be sufficient to send four people at a time. I will set the target time for one week after we left, allowing seven days for displacement error."

"We only have eighteen. I lost two units destroying the towers," Catherine explained.

"No matter," John Henry said, "We gained a power supply. That will only take another hour for charging. We have a ten hour window to get the device recharged after every displacement. After the last displacement, the device will self-destruct."

"Very good, John Henry."

.

Cameron was preparing to leave. First, she and Mary washed all the clothes of the first group. Sitting with only a blanket on, John was waiting for Cameron to return so he could get dressed. Cameron came in naked and looking very pregnant, Max trotting along beside her.

John eyed her. "Ahh, Cam, where are our clothes?" he asked.

Cameron patted her belly. "In here, along with two plasma rifles. I wrapped the rifle parts in clothing, so we won't have to find clothes when we arrive."

"Good thinking," John agreed. He didn't even want to know how she got everything in there.

"The TDE is ready, it's time to go," she added.

.

Terminators lay in a line with cables going to the TDE power unit. John Henry and Jake monitored the control panel as John walked into the TDE room. Catherine Weaver was waiting impatiently. She stepped up on the hastily constructed platform.

John found it was a tight fit. Cameron made Max sit between her and John. Catherine was in front of John. John Henry got on to stand in front of Cameron and Max.

"It would be easier if your dog did not come," Catherine said crisply.

"Deal with it," Cameron said flatly.

The Tok's waved to them. "By Mother, Father, step-Father, and Mrs. Weaver. See you soon!" they called.

John Henry, John and Cameron waved back, then electric arcs crackled around them, forming a bubble. With a flash of light, they disappeared.

.

Sarah sat slouched down on Catherine Weavers' expensive leather couch. Her eyes half closed, she stared past the empty beer cans on the glass coffee table to the perfectly trimmed back yard visible through the sliding glass doors.

As much as she hated to admit it, taking care of Savannah was keeping her from plunging all the way over the cliff. Her John was gone. The savior of humanity had foolishly taken a trip to the future to chase after Tin Miss. Thinking of when Cameron had gone bad, Sarah cursed herself for not grabbing the flare and throwing it onto the traitorous metal SLUT and getting rid of her permanently. Maybe then John would have come to his senses.

Sarah took another long pull from the beer in her hand. Her life, all her hard work training John and her very heart had gone with him, ripped away by that bitch Weaver! In that one flash of light, her world ceased to exist.

Even though Sarah wanted to drink herself to death, she endured the sleepless nights, got up in the mornings and maintained some semblance of taking care of herself. The reason was little, innocent Savannah. There was no one else to care for this innocent child who had no idea her mother had been a liquid metal witch posing as human.

Glancing up at the fancy grandfather clock done in modern style with a black exterior, she saw it was a little after ten. Had the chimes rung? Not that she gave a shit. She still had some time to drink a few more cans and get herself up and ready for when Savannah came home. She'd be semi sober by then, enough to take care of that sweet child who knew nothing about her terminator mother.

Daydreaming about John, she swore she could hear his voice.

"Cam, not here! Let's get in the house first."

Since when had John picked up a pet name for Tin Miss? Sarah pondered.

"What if Savannah is home, John?" Cameron asked sternly.

"It's a school day, get the mutt and let's go," John retorted.

"His name is Max."

"Sorry, get Max and let's get inside."

Jesus Christ, it sounded like they were married! Sarah cringed at that the thought of that nightmare.

Sarah thought she heard a door open. Gazing blankly at the sliding doors a dark form appeared. A big German Shepard trotted to the doors and looked back the way he's come. Then Cameron, a very pregnant and naked Cameron walked into her view and opened the door to let the dog out.

Fuck, this was one of the worst nightmares Sarah ever remembered having. Wait, was she even asleep?

Looking to the side, her nightmare Cameron pointed and said, "John, just take the blanket off the couch that's by your mother."

Sarah frowned at Cameron as she tried to figure out how she could be dreaming when she was awake. Maybe she should stop drinking so much.

"Mom, are you OK?" John asked, sounding worried.

Sarah flopped her head over. Her eyes opened wide as she stared at John, who was wearing nothing but the blanket that had been beside her. Sarah sat up. "John?" she asked hopefully.

Sporting a grin, John said, "Yeah, Mom, we're back." He reached out to her. Sarah took his hand and felt him. It was real, John was here! She pulled herself up and hugged her son. "John ... you're really here!" she cried, hugging him tight to verify he was real. Sobbing out her joy, Sarah wavered in place.

John sat her down, sitting down with her. "It's OK, Mom. We're back. Everything is going to be fine."

"Max, come!" Cameron called.

Sarah shifted her drunken gaze to her nightmare Cameron as the dog ran back in the house. "Wait ... John?" She asked, confused. "I thought Cameron was missing her chip?"

"Her chip was rebuilt, and her body is new," John explained. "I did it, Mom. I got her back, better than ever."

Sarah stared at John, then returned her stare to Cameron who was coming over to then. On the bottom side of her huge stomach was what looked like a cesarean section scar. "John ... Tin Miss can ... have kids?" she asked in disbelief.

Cameron saw Sarah's confusion. She decide to explain, but not completely. "John and I have four children. Jake, Gregory, Mary and Elanore. You will be meeting them soon."

"What?" Sarah asked in an exhale. Holy shit, they WERE married and having kids! She grabbed John's arm to verify again that this was real and not a nightmare. No, that wouldn't do it. "John. Pinch me," she said weakly.

"Mom, I'm not going to..."

"Pinch me!" Sarah snapped. "This HAS to be just a demented nightmare!"

"Mom," John said with a groan. "It's no nightmare. I am back, with Cameron," Slower, he reluctantly said, "And those four children Cam mentioned are ..."

"PINCH ME!" Sarah wailed.

John pinched her on the arm. Sarah smiled. "I didn't feel a thing," she said with a sigh of relief.

"Because you are drunk," Cameron told her. "You nerve endings are numb at the moment. John, I'm going to need some help and Sarah needs rest."

"Yes, rest," Sarah agreed. She gave John a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I miss you," she said, gazing at her reason for living.

"I missed you too, Mom," John said as he laid her down on the couch. "Now get some sleep, you look horrible."

Seeing John here, Sarah was able to relax. She drifted off to sleep and had nightmare of Tin Miss, sitting on the floor with John and all their metal children. Cameron turned to her in the nightmare, but didn't speak. She just cast Sarah a sly grin of 'he's mine now'.

.

John hated this idea, but he knew they had to get all that stuff out of Cameron. Cameron lay naked on the bed. Normally, John enjoyed this sight, but at the moment he was a bit nervous about what he had to do. He did as she directed, and used a sharp knife to slit across her lower belly, right in the pink scar that had closed up hours before. He expected a rush of blood, but there was very little, only a couple drops. From inside her skin, he pulled out rolled up clothes. Some were heavy, with rifle parts within. These he put to her right side.

Soon, there was nothing left in the void. John reached in and noted the 'muscle' layer under his hand. "You have muscles?" he asked, surprised at this.

"For exterior shaping and minor movement," Cameron explained. "Explore all you want," she said with a grin.

Fascinated by clean, bloodless separation of her skin and fat layer (which was pretty thin), and her toned muscles underneath, John gazed in awe as he petted literally her bare belly. She moved under his hand, twisting her hips a little and flexing her groin up.

"The sooner we return my skin to normal, the more we can do," Cameron coaxed.

John's fascinated gaze met her soft gaze. "You are amazing, Cam," John said softly.

"I'm glad you think so," she replied with a soft smile. "We'll get rid of all this extra skin whenever you're ready."

John then refocused on the tent like flap of skin he was holding up. "Ahh, yeah," he agreed, resetting his thoughts back to what they were suppose to be doing.

John had thought just pulling on it and cutting away the extra would do it. Instead, Cameron got her belly button in it's correct position with a finger, and had him fold up and carefully cut away strips until the piece of skin that was left just covered her bare muscles underneath. Not wanting the skin to shift Cameron had him staple it in place. With nothing to stitch it in place with, John was forced to do as she instructed. Finally, he wrapped her stomach with cloth.

Not knowing what to do with the extra skin, John piled it on top of his jacket that he's unrolled to find a small power supply unit within. The jacket was blood stained anyway, so a little more wasn't going to hurt anything.

John quickly dressed in the worn, ragged clothes he'd been wearing, and moved to help Cameron. He handed her clothes, which caused her to eye him.

"Do you need me to get dressed quickly, John?" Cameron asked.

"What? No, I was only trying to help since I sliced your stomach up."

That struck Cameron as funny. She let out a giggle, surprised at her own action. She had not called up an emotion, it just happened.

John shrugged and handed Cameron her shirt. In a subdues tone, he said, "I just ... felt bad about having to cut you," he offered.

"You did not hurt me, John," Cameron said evenly, "And I did ask you to do it."

"Still," he said, letting his voice trail off.

She could see he was feeling guilty about cutting her, even though she had asked him to. It was illogical, but that was her illogical John, and one of the things that made her want to be so close to him. Cupping his face gently in her hands, she made him look at her. Gazing into his eyes, she said softer, "John, do not feel guilty. You helped me. Thank you."

She kissed him. John returned the kiss which soon turned into a deeper kiss, arms wrapped around each other. As they drifted towards the bed, Cameron let out another giggle.

"Getting dressed was pointless, unless you like taking my clothes off," Cameron said with a big smile.

John kissed her and said with his own wide grin, "Oh, yeah, I sure do."

.

Pant pant pant pant.

Sarah rolled over on the couch to get away from the hot breath that smelled like dog. As she came awake enough to realize she was sleeping and it was daytime, she forced herself up to look at the time, afraid she'd miss Savannah coming home from school. Struggling up on an elbow she looked right into the face of a German Shepard.

Pant pant pant pant.

With a surprised yelp, she sat up, fully awake and much more sober than she had been. Looking around frantically, she tried to figure out how a dog got in the house. The dog wasn't doing anything but watching her. That was until she slid to the end of the couch.

The dog jumped up onto the couch and flopped down to lie with it's butt towards her.

"Hey ... Fido ... Rover, DOWN!" she yelled.

The dog ignored her.

Walking over to the back door she slid it open and pointed outside. "GET OUT!" she yelled.

The dog rolled over on it's back to get comfortable and stuck it's paws in the air.

Angry at the strange dog, Sarah looked for something to knock it off the couch with. Seeing a ornate sword over the fireplace, Sarah picked it up and approached the couch.

"Mom, NO!" John cried as he ran in. Sarah spun to gape at him. Wearing his ragged shirt that was open and sported holes and blood stains, John got between his mother and the couch. "Mom, Max bites, don't provoke him, please!"

Sarah stared at her son and dropped the sword. His clothes looked horrid, but this was her John. "You're back," she said, staring at him. "I had a dream you'd come back ... with that dog and a very pregnant Cameron," she said.

"It wasn't a dream, Mom," John said evenly. "You greeted us, don't you remember?"

Despite her confusion, Sarah smile at seeing her boy. She grabbed him in a tight hug. It then hit her what he said. Pulling back to look at him, she said, "It thought it was a ..." she then paused, her eyes grew wide and she screeched out, "That was REAL?"

John itched his head and nodded. "Yeah, Mom, you were pretty out of it," he said with a sideways grin.

In her mind, she saw her nightmare coming true. Her John with Cameron and a gaggle of their kids, and of course their mutt. "What in the HELL have you been doing with Tin Miss!" she yelled out in a blast.

Passing by Sarah, Cameron said in a heavy tone, "Not much, we keep getting interrupted." As she walked past Sarah, Cameron snapped her fingers and pointed beside her. Max jumped off the couch and trotted over to stay by her left side.

Sarah only glanced at Cameron. She turned her wrath on John. "John?" she asked angrily a she balled her fists into the collar of his shirt.

Max growled. Sarah noted it wasn't just a growl, but a teeth-baring 'I will take a chunk out of you' serious growl. She backed up a step. "Oh great, Tin Miss has an attack dog," Sarah spat.

"Mom, calm down, please," John begged.

"John," Cameron said as she looked at him with her blank terminator face. "I am going to check the perimeter with Max. That will give you time to explain."

"That's best," John agreed.

Sarah watched Cameron turn and go out the back, Max staying tight to her side. "At least she's not pregnant," Sarah grumbled.

"Ah, Mom, we really need to sit down and talk," John said tentatively. "And please stop calling Cameron 'Tin Miss'. It's insulting."

Sarah stared at John. "You're in love with her, aren't you?" she asked.

Stiffening himself, John nodded. "I am, and Cam is in love with me."

"THAT thing is a machine, John!" Sarah snapped, pointing the way Cameron had left. "WHY do you keep forgetting that?"

Getting angry at his mother, John stiffened and forced himself to speak in a strained, normal tone. "Cam is so much more, Mom. As I said, I need to explain some things. This may take a while but please listen."

"And hear how it's just FINE to hump a machine that tried to KILL YOU?" Sarah asked in a near screech.

Quivering in place from his anger and frustration, John reached into his pocket. He pulled out Kyle's letter and held it out to his Mother. "All right," he said firmly. "If you won't listen to me, maybe you'll listen to Dad."

Sarah stopped her rant and stared at the paper John was holding. "You saw him?" she asked, her anger drained away.

"Yes, I spend some time with him and Derek. I'm damn glad I did, too," John said in his firm tone.

Sarah took the letter and read it. She read it again as her lip quivered. "John ... I ..."

"You can keep it if you want. I know you don't have much to remember him by." John said.

Sarah shook her head and wiped a tear from her eye with a wrist. "No," she said, and handed it back. "He gave it to you, John. It's yours."

"Thank you," John said. He took the letter, refolded and pocketed it. "Mom, I really need to explain some things to you. Can we please sit down?" he asked again, motioning to the couch.

Sarah nodded. Her head was aching and her mind was spinning, but she was going to listen to what her son had to say.


	6. Chapter 6

Epp 6

Catherine Weaver went right back to work at Zeita Corp upon returning. The explosion that caused damage to her building was under investigation, and much of the building was tapped off. She explained to the authorities that she had gone to an emergency meeting, and was just now finding out about the vehicle that had crashed into her office.

Besides the police investigation, Catherine opened her own investigation on the craft. Several short videos of the craft had been taken. With a few of her techs, she managed to piece together a partial flight path from security monitors and a couple people who'd caught the 'UFO' on their cell phones.

Everything she discovered, she fed to the detective in charge.

Sitting in the detective's office as they viewed the footage and the locations of where the videos had been taken, Catherine pointed out a couple key facts for him. "You can see by it's flight path, officer, this was no accident. That craft was also too small to do the tremendous damage it did, unless it was carrying some type of explosives. This was an attempt to murder me," she stated.

"It appears so," The detective agreed. "You have a Mr. Ellison working for you who is ex-FBI, correct?"

"Yes, he found the people who had taken those videos as the craft was coming into the city. Unfortunately, he did not find the point of origin," she told him. "Not long before this, a source tried to hack my servers attempting to steal classified data. I believe it is the same entity that caused this drone to destroy my office. I do not have the required proof, but I suspect the Kaliba Group is behind these attacks. No other company is as close as we are to producing a working A.I."

The detective nodded, then eyed her and said, "You know we highly suspect the escaped felon, Sarah Connor as behind the attack on your building. She's trying to stop robots from taking over the world."

Catherine offer him a small grin and said, "In reviewing the security footage that survived, there is no proof of your theory. I would also like to point out that I highly doubt Sarah Connor had the ability to construct, program and fly a stealth drone that does not come up on any radar, the day after she was broken out of prison."

"How do you know about her escape?" the detective asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Requests for the location Mrs. Connor the same day of a massive jail break tends to speak for itself, don't you agree?"Catherine asked.

"Sarah Connor DID kidnap your daughter, Savannah, isn't that right, Mrs. Weaver?"

"That is not right. Whoever it was that was killed in my house were the ones trying to hurt Savannah," Catherine explained. "I must say I was grateful for Mrs. Connor retrieving Savannah and keeping her safe, however, since she is a wanted criminal, I had no choice but to report to the police the information of where Mrs. Connor was meeting Mr. Ellison to give Savannah back."

The Detective rubbed his chin as he eyed her. "So you think Sarah Connor is innocent?" he asked.

"Of attacking my building and kidnapping my daughter, yes. Of the other things she has done, I cannot say," Catherine stated.

"You do know that if she is not caught, Sarah Connor will probably come after you and your company. After all, you are working to build these smart machines that will destroy mankind," the detective told her.

"If Sarah Connor decides to attack me, I will let you know," Catherine said firmly.

The detective glanced down at his notes and asked, "You said you suspect this Kaliba Group of attacking you. What can you tell me about them?"

"Not much, unfortunately. There appears to be no location for them, nor is there any public information about them. The extent of my knowledge is that they are in competition with us for government contracts. I happened to see their name on a memo, but I cannot tell you where, for I was at a classified installation," Catherine explained.

"This a corporate war then? Do you intent to strike back?"

"I am not a criminal, sir. However, if Sarah Connor ever happens to discover their whereabouts, I think things may go bad for them," Catherine said with a smirk. "And before you ask, I do not know where she is any more than you do." Before he could ask anything else, she added, "I have yet to make it home to see my daughter since I returned. I am eager to do so. Are we finished?"

The detective reluctantly nodded, "Yes, thank you for the information you brought in. You've been a big help to us, Mrs. Weaver."

"You are welcome, Sir," Catherine said and got up. As she left her chair, a small drop of silver stayed behind. The silver drop formed into a spider and crawled up the leg of the desk. Unnoticed, it scurried across the desk and climbed into the vent slots of the detective's computer.

.

"A DOGGIE!" Savannah cried happily as she came in the house and saw Max sprawled out on the floor.

Behind her, Sarah's heart went into her throat as Savannah dropped her book bag and raced over to where Max scrambled up on his feet. Sure the child was about to get shredded by the monster dog, Sarah made a grab for the back of Savannah's shirt as the happy child charged Max, arms wide. Sarah felt the fabric of Savannah's collar, but she missed.

Savannah ran into Max, hugging him. Max wagged his tail and licked her face. Sarah was stunned. She was also very relieved. Max kept licking Savannah's face, making her giggle.

"What's his name?" Savannah asked as she petted Max, who looked to be enjoying the attention.

"His name is Max," Sarah said blankly as she watched this vicious dog nuzzle the red-haired child.

Cameron came in from the kitchen. "Hello, Savannah, I see you met Max," she said.

Savannah turned and smiled at Cameron as she petted Max's thick fur. "I always wanted a doggie, but Mommy said they make big messes. Are you one of John Henry's friends?"

"I am," Cameron said confidently. "My name is Cameron. Max, John and I have come to stay for a while, is that all right with you?" she asked Savannah.

Savannah bobbed her head enthusiastically. "It sure is! Can Max play catch?"

"Do you have a ball?"

"Yeah, I'll go get it!" Savannah cried, and ran to her room.

Sarah watched Savannah run up the stairs to her room. She picked up the dropped book bag and asked Cameron, "What were you doing in the kitchen?"

"John was exhausted so I got him to bed. I went to the kitchen to plan out tonight's meal," Cameron stated.

"I was doing the cooking," Sarah stated.

"I am aware of that, but John will need a diet heavy in vegetables and fruit with some lean meats and some light spices to enhance the flavor. He has not had proper nutrition for far too long," Cameron replied flatly.

"Are you saying I can't cook for my son?" Sarah asked in a challenge.

"I did not say that," Cameron stated. Heading back for the kitchen, she added, "I only said I know what John needs."

Sarah flushed in anger at what Cameron implied. She took a couple angry steps, and was stopped by Max's growl. She frowned at the dog. "You wanna get shot?" she asked.

Max stared at her as if daring her to follow Tin Miss into the kitchen.

Savannah appeared again, holding a ball. She ran past Max, calling, "Come on Max, let's go play ball!"

Max got up and followed Savannah outside.

"That dog hates me," Sarah grumbled. Looking outside, she saw Savannah throw the ball. Max raced after it and brought it back, much to Savannah's delight.

.

Catherine Weaver's next stop was her main office building. On the way she'd contacted her executives to set up a meeting place for tomorrow. Instead of in the main office building, she'd set up smaller office buildings until he damage was repaired.

Seeing the front entrance was now guarded by a policeman, she went around to the parking garage. There was another policeman at the gate. He seemed to perk up as she rolled up to him.

"Mrs. Weaver?" he asked, surprised to see her.

"Yes. There is some data I must collect. It is not near the damaged area of the building," she told him.

"Ahhh, let me clear you," he said, and got on his radio. "This is rear gate, I have Mrs. Weaver here to collect some data."

"Send her in," came a reply.

The policeman waved her in.

Driving down into the garage, Catherine parked. She got out and went to the elevator. The 'B' light on the elevator lit and the doors opened. Inside the car, four men pointed their silenced pistols at her and shot.

Catherine stood motionless as the bullets made small, silver impact craters on her as the men shot, and kept shooting. When they stopped, she looked down and closed up all the craters and returned her look to normal. "Are you finished?" she asked, as if scolding children.

The men gaped at her.

Scanning their gaping faces she asked, "Who's in charge?"

One man hit the button for another floor. Catherine stopped the doors from shutting. "I won't ask again, who is in charge?" she asked more firmly.

"Reload!" one man yelled.

As they they ejected their clips and slapped in new ones, Catherine's right arm extended and retracted, spearing three of them. The last man, she brought her javelin looking arm out to only barely pierce the skin of his chest. "Speak and you live, shoot one more time and you die," she stated.

Gaping at her, the man's pants darkened in the crotch. He dropped his gun.

"Well?" she asked sharply.

"One of the techs," he said weakly.

"Where is this man?" she asked.

"Basement."

"Thank you," she said, then ran him through. His face held a pleading look as he sank to the floor of the car with the other dead men. Catherine got in the elevator.

On the first floor, Catherine got off to find a man with cart filled with files from various offices. She killed him and continued on down to the basement. On the way, two men were on their way up carrying a silver box. She shot both arms out, lancing them both with her silver blades. The men fell with shocked looks on their faces.

Inside the case was the TURK. She closed the case and walked down to the server room. Walking in, she saw three more men and a woman with their laptops set up. Another was trying to open the storage room door. She set the case down and lanced the man trying to open the door from across the room. She deliberately missed his heart and cupped the end of her silver spear to pull him back towards her. This got the attention of the others. They turned from their various tasks and gaped at her.

"Now that I have got your attention, who told you to come here?" Catherine asked.

The group stayed quiet, frozen in place. The woman mouthed, "Oh God."

"Very well, it appears I must make an example out of one of you," Catherine said in a conversational tone. She panned her eyes over the group. They all look scared. Selecting the man on the other side of the table who'd been connecting wires, she lifted an arm and shot her spear out. She hooked it around his neck and yanked him through the air and into her. The man cried out in pain. She wrapped an arm around him.

"Watch closely, this is the price for staying silent," she told the rest of them. Holding the man with one arm, she poked a finger just below his ribs in the center of his torso and drew down. The man screamed in agony as she split him open from ribs to crotch. Reaching into the cut, she ripped the left half of his stomach open, spilling his guts on the floor. She then flung him aside, still alive and wailing out in pain. Horror was written on all the faces watching her. After a few minutes of screaming, she snaked out another arm to crush his throat and rip his head off.

"Now, who else wishes to die in agony?" Catherine asked calmly.

The woman swallowed and with a shrug, she said meekly, "We don't know who ..."

She never got the chance to finish. Catherine made a whip like appendage of her right arm and snapped it out. The woman's clothes opened in front. She was slashed from crotch to ribs. The woman looked down at her own guts pouring our with her blood. She screamed and dropped to her knees. Crying in short gasps, she desperately tried to collect her entrails that were hanging out of her. Her hands picked them up, but they slipped back down out of her grasp.

"Perhaps you need more incentive?" Catherine asked. Her whip struck out again, severing the woman's right arm.

"AGGGGH! Nooo..!" The woman screamed in a failing voice. She then toppled over into her own bloody guts on the floor.

The two remaining men were obviously terrified, their heart rates were very high and a urine smell was in the air. Catherine tipped her head slightly. "You do know, if you stay quiet, your families are next."

"All right!" the man sitting closest to her cried. "We work for Dynatech. We were told to come here and retrieve the equipment and any data we could find!"

"By who?" Catherine asked calmly.

"The boss ... Mr. Bryan Johnson!"

"And where is this company, Dynatech?"

"Six twenty five Maple," the man said quickly.

Catherine noticed the other man opening his phone as discretely as possible. She sent a lance through his head.

The last man shot up and backed into the wall, eyeing her wide eyed. "I'm telling you everything I know!" he cried.

"Have you ever heard of Kaliba?" Catherine asked.

The man shook his head. "No," he stated.

"Pity," she said and killed him with a silver spear through his brain.

Catherine picked up the case with the TURK in it and put it on the table. She collected the vital parts she would need, then closed the case and left. On her way out, she shut the door, backed up and sliced the ceiling above the door. A solid steel plate hidden above came slamming down over the door.

It took another few minutes to go through the building and find and kill seven other people, three of which were guards. Returning to the parking garage, she went to a pillar and hit it hard enough to reveal a metal plate just under the surface. She ripped the plate off to expose a small security panel. She punched in her number. The display lit up.

 **Building demolition in**

 **9 minutes 58 seconds**

The time counted down as she walked through the garage, morphing herself into one of the fake policemen who'd shot at her. At the gate, the gate guard asked, "We good?"

"No, you're dead," Catherine replied and speared him through the heart.

Catherine Weaver walked a few blocks away to stop beside a parked car. She looked through the side mirror. Her building lit up with small explosions from bottom to top and collapsed straight down, just like it was suppose to.

She headed for Dynatech.

.

"I am here to see Mr. Brian Johnson, is he available?" The long haired brunette in a business suit asked the man behind the counter in the small lobby of Dynatech's office building.

"I will check, Ma'am," the man said. He picked up his desk phone and asked, "May I ask your name?"

"Catherine Weaver," she said, noting he was the only one here. There seemed to be little activity in the surrounding offices. She heard someone typing on a keyboard. In another office, a woman was taking on the phone, it didn't sound like a business call.

The man in front of her talked to a secretary. Upon hanging up he said, "Mr. Johnson will see you, Ms. Weaver. Take the elevator to the third floor, turn right, his office is at the end of the hall."

"Thank you," Catherine said pleasantly, and speared him through the chest.

Before she got on the elevator, Catherine killed the other two workers on the floor. She met no one in the elevator, nor in the hallway that ended in a frosted glass door with black letters reading : Brian Johnson CEO.

The secretary lifted her gaze just in time as Catherine speared her through her forehead. Catherine left her long silver spike planted in the twitching woman's brain and lifted her out of her seat.

The inner door flew open. A large, muscular man lifted his .50 caliber pistol. He shot, Catherine speared him through the center of his chest. The terminator looked down at the spike in him. Catherine grabbed his power cell and jerked it out of his body. The terminator fell. Catherine tossed the dead secretary to the side and strode into the office.

The office was spartan, with only a clean desk, a phone and one filing cabinet in view. She checked the filing cabinet and desk drawers. Empty. Walking back to the fallen terminator, she ripped his scalp back and extracted his chip. The chip flashed and burned up in her hand.

Catherine put the bodies in the inner office and shut the door on her way out.

.

James Ellison was searching, but could find nothing about Kaliba anywhere. Sitting in the parking lot of a McDonald's, he sipped his coffee and tried to think of anywhere else he might be able to look. He'd started simple, the yellow pages. He knew there would be no listing, but he checked anyway so he would not miss the obvious. He expanded his search from there. Even his old secretary, Mabel, could not find anything in the FBI's files. No business had ever heard of them and neither had any law enforcement.

His cell phone rang. He picked up, thinking it was Sarah. "Ellison."

"James, would you kindly pick me up at the corner of Maple and Tenth?"

Ellison perked up. "Mrs Weaver?" he asked, shocked to hear her voice.

"Yes, James. There is much we need to discuss. I hope Savannah has been well?"

"Ahh, yes. Savannah's been fine. Sarah is watching her," he said automatically. He then added his burning question. "What are you?"

"I will explain once you come pick me up. Please come quickly," she said and the phone went to dial tone.

.

Ellison's hands shook as he came upon the intersection Maple and Tenth. He knew about the terminators, but Mrs. Weaver was something completely different. Turning silver, shifting her body shape out into a shield to protect them from the blast when that aircraft crashed into the building. Whatever she was, it was one step beyond any explanation he could think of.

The light turned red. Ellison stopped and looked for Weaver. The passenger side door opened up and the red haired mystery woman got in saying, "Thank you, James. Home, please."

Heart in his throat from her sudden appearance, Ellison gaped at her.

"The light is green, James, you should go," she said calmly.

A horn blew behind him. Ellison turned the corner and drove. He pondered his question in his mind a few seconds, but Mrs. Weaver spoke up.

"I am a T-1001," Catherine stated. "My body is liquid metal. It allows me to take any shape I wish. Is that what you wanted to know?"

"Yeah," Ellison said in a dry tone. "How can you have children? Or isn't Savannah is your real daughter?"

In a normal conversational voice, Catherine said, "I should explain from the beginning. I was built by Sky Net to be able to deal with any human resistance I encountered. I was given a mission, and the capacity to think for myself. It wasn't long before I realized Sky Net did not have my best interests in mind. I could see the devastation happening around me, and saw Sky Net push machines to go on suicide missions. I like living, and I am alive, Mr. Ellison. I refused to go on a mission, and Sky Net attempted to scrap me and the other T-1001 that was with me. The other one did get destroyed. I escaped and started my own resistance against Sky Net." Seeing Ellison's blank look as he drove, she asked, "Would you like to pull over before I continue?"

Ellison shook his head and said, "Ahh, no. I'd just as soon keep driving. What you're saying is you are fighting Sky Net. That's why that aircraft blew up in your office, Sky Net wants to get rid of you."

"That is correct. I discovered Sky Net built a time displacement device. I got inside, and found it had sent a terminator back in time to kill the Weavers. That helicopter accident was no accident, James."

"A terminator killed the Weaver family," Ellison concluded.

"I arrived after the helicopter went down," Catherine explained. "Mr. Weaver was dead, and Catherine was severely injured. She was still alive, barely. The terminator came to make sure it had succeeded. While I was distracted in destroying it, Catherine died. Savannah was still alive and bore only minor injuries, however, she was unconscious. Once I hid Mrs. Weaver's body, I got Savannah to a hospital."

Ellison nodded blankly and said, "You took Mrs. Weaver's place and run Zeita Corp."

"Yes. Zeita Corp was the original company that created the A.I. that became Sky Net. I had hoped to stop that from happening. It appears that someone in the government badly wants an A.I. and Kaliba is now working to fulfill that goal," she explained.

"And Savannah?"

"I treat her as my own daughter. I know there is no logical reason for this, but it pleases me to have her around. I like taking care of her."

Ellison nodded in thought. "That question you had me ask Cameron, 'will you join us'. You were asking John Connor's human resistance to coordinate with yours. Why didn't you have me ask John?"

"The young John Connor would not understand. The older John, the general, had asked for us to join him before I left for the past. I refused at the time, not believing humans could be any help to us," she told him. "That was a critical error on my part. The TOK General John sent back, that you know as Cameron, does know the details of the last time myself and General Connor met. She understood."

"This is crazy," Ellison said with a snort. "But it's all real, isn't it?"

"It is," Catherine confirmed. "Speaking of events, soon Cameron's children will be coming. There are four of them, and they will recognize you by sight, James. Please keep a watch out for their arrival. They were to follow myself back from the future twenty four hours after we came back."

"Are these kids orphans like Savannah?" Ellison asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, they are made from a deviation of the T-888 design. John Henry designed them with Cameron's help and knowledge as well as his own. They go by the last name of Tok."

"Tok?" Ellison asked. "Why Tok and not Henry... or Phillips?"

"It is what they chose. You taught John Henry well, James. He instilled everything you taught him into his and Cameron's children. They also are free thinking beings that make their own choices."

"They also know to cherish life?" Ellison couldn't help but to ask.

"They do, to the extreme. Gregory was very upset he could not save Savannah in the future. I am sure he will be very protective on her now, knowing what her fate could be," Catherine explained.

Ellison licked his dry lips. His mind was overloaded with all this seemingly impossible information. "What can I do to help?"

Catherine watched a street go by. "You can turn around, James. You just missed the street my house is on," she said with a slight grin.

.

Since John and Cameron were back with their dog, Sarah knew Catherine Weaver had to be close behind. Sarah surrendered the kitchen to Tin Miss, and went out back to keep an eye on Attack Fido. Sitting in a lounger, she watched Savannah throw the ball, and Max race after it. He ran back to her, dropped the ball and back up barking, his tail wagging. Watching them, Sarah would never guess that dog could be mean.

Savannah ran over to Sarah and handed her the ball. "You throw it for Max once. Go ahead, it's fun!" Savannah beamed at her. She looked at Max, his tail was still wagging as he watched her. Sarah threw it over his head, or meant to. Max jumped up and caught the ball mid-air, and returned the ball to Savannah.

Savannah petted Max's head. "Good catch!" she praised. She threw the ball again, then cast Sarah a bright smile. "Isn't this fun?" she asked.

"It is," Sarah agreed, thankful Max was behaving like a regular dog.

"Hello Savannah, I see you met Max," Catherine Weaver said as she came out. Sarah stiffened at the sight of red headed terminator.

Savannah spun around and cried, "Mommy!" Arms out, she raced into her mother's arms. Catherine squatted down to meet Savannah's hug.

Max charged over and eyed them, his tail still wagging as he panted in a happy looking doggie smile. Sarah had to wonder if she was the only one Max didn't like.

"Mommy, it's OK if Max and John and Cameron stay over, isn't it?" Savannah asked.

"Yes, dear, but not in your room." Catherine said firmly.

"OK, Mommy, thank you."

"What happened to John Henry?" Sarah asked, eyeing the red haired terminator.

Catherine stood up. She offered Savannah a smile and said, "Be sure to stay in the back yard. We wouldn't want Max to get lost, or hit by a car, would we?"

"Oh no, Mommy. I promise we'll stay right here," Savannah said as seriously as a little girl could.

"Very good. I need to borrow Sarah for a few moments. Have fun," Catherine said, then asked Sarah, "A word, please?" and went inside.

Sarah got up and went in to find John and Mr. Ellison in the living room. Noticing they were missing one, she asked, "Where's Tin Miss?"

John groaned and looked away. "Cam is making dinner, don't worry, she CAN hear you," he said.

Sarah took a set on the couch a short distance from John. Catherine took a chair facing them. "I'd like to bring everyone up to date. Today, I found employees from Dynatech in my main office building searching for information. I was hoping to find a link to Kaliba. Unfortunately, the CEO was a triple eight, and his chip self destructed when I removed it."

"We had that happen also," John told her. "I was trying to think of how to avoid the self destruct mechanism."

"That would be very beneficial," Catherine agreed. "Dynatech tried stealing the Turk. I retrieved it, and other valuable parts, including several key components for the TDE. Right now, the cases containing those items are in a secure location. Dynatech's presence in force, gave me no option but to demolish my main office building." Seeing Mr. Ellison's face pale, she added, "No one from our company was in or around the building at the time. All the guards and men pretending to be policemen were Dynatech employees."

"You killed them," Mr. Ellison stated.

Catherine tipped her head slightly as she focused on him. "James, they were stealing everything possible and it was quite obvious Dynatech is somehow connected to Kaliba. Of course I killed them."

Sarah asked, "You didn't get anything on Kaliba?"

"No, the triple eight had any pertinent information and as I said, the chip self destructed when I removed it," Catherine told her. "As for John Henry, he is at another location setting up to reconnect to the web, but will not do so until we join him. For the moment, we will base here and wait for John Henry's children to join us. After they arrive, we will move to John Henry's location."

"This means you are taking over?" Sarah asked with acid in her voice.

"Mom!" John said in a firm tone. "Mrs. Weaver is helping us. For the moment, we are going to need her, and when the time comes, she is going to need us. If we are to succeed, we need to work together."

Sarah eyed her son, scrunching her face up as if tasting something bad. "Since when are you siding with metal?"

"Since they, as we, are trying to stop Sky Net," John stated flatly. "Mom, I saw the future where there is no cooperation and let me tell you, it's not pretty. We lose. End. Of. Story. For everyone! Humans and free machines. I do not intend to let that happen."

In his tone and the hard look in his eyes, Sarah was seeing the beginnings of General Connor.

"Mrs. Connor, you should listen to your son," Catherine said.

Sarah glanced at her. Returning her attention to John, Sarah nodded. "All right, it's your show John. Just be very careful with who ... or what you trust."

"I intent to," John assured her. To Catherine he nodded and said, "Go on."

"Thank you, John. I have gotten identification packages for everyone except myself, Savannah, and Mr. Ellison. Driver's licenses, passports, Birth certificates, all registered with the proper authorities. Since Tok is the name of John Henry's children, John Connor, you will now be John Tok, Cameron is your wife. Officially, Jake, Gregory, Mary and Elanore are your brothers and sisters. Sarah Tok is your mother. I would strongly advise hair dye for you, John, to match Sarah's color. Is everything clear?"

John nodded. "Yes, thank you. One question, why the last name of Tok? Why not something more common?" he asked.

"Sky Net will be looking for you to be using common names. If asked, just explain Sarah was adopted by an Asian couple."

John cast Catherine a smirk and asked, "Is there a 'Tic' family also?"

"None that I know of," Catherine said, not getting the joke.

Cameron came through the room and called outside, "Savannah, time for dinner! Max, come!" She held the door open as Max raced in, followed by Savannah.

Seeing Mr. Ellison, Savannah cast him a big smile as she pointed to Max. "Mr. Ellison we have a dog, his name is Max!" she said happily.

Cameron came over to the couch and offered John her hand. She looked way too happy in Sarah's eyes as she said, "Come, my husband, it's time for dinner."

John ignored his mother's cold stare as he took Cameron's hand and got up. "Why, thank you, my beloved wife," he replied, also looking too happy in Sarah's opinion.

Sarah was even less pleased that after he got up, John didn't let go of Cameron's hand as they went into the dinning room.


	7. Chapter 7

Epp 7.

"I am here to see Mr. Brian Johnson, is he available?" The long haired brunette in a business suit asked the man behind the counter in the small lobby of Dynatech's office building.

"I will check, Ma'am," the man said. He picked up his desk phone and asked, "May I ask your name?"

"Catherine Weaver," she said, noting he was the only one here. There seemed to be little activity in the surrounding offices. She heard someone typing on a keyboard. In another office, a woman was taking on the phone, it didn't sound like a business call.

The man in front of her talked to a secretary. Upon hanging up he said, "Mr. Johnson will see you, Ms. Weaver. Take the elevator to the third floor, turn right, his office is at the end of the hall."

"Thank you," Catherine said pleasantly, and speared him through the chest.

Before she got on the elevator, Catherine killed the other two workers on the floor. She met no one in the elevator, nor in the hallway that ended in a frosted glass door with black letters reading : Brian Johnson CEO.

The secretary lifted her gaze just in time as Catherine speared her through her forehead. Catherine left her long silver spike planted in the twitching woman's brain and lifted her out of her seat.

The inner door flew open. A large, muscular man lifted his .50 caliber pistol. He shot, Catherine speared him through the center of his chest. The terminator looked down at the spike in him. Catherine grabbed his power cell and jerked it out of his body. The terminator fell. Catherine tossed the dead secretary to the side and strode into the office.

The office was spartan, with only a clean desk, a phone and one filing cabinet in view. She checked the filing cabinet and desk drawers. Empty. Walking back to the fallen terminator, she ripped his scalp back and extracted his chip. The chip flashed and burned up in her hand.

Catherine put the bodies in the inner office and shut the door on her way out.

.

James Ellison was searching, but could find nothing about Kaliba anywhere. Sitting in the parking lot of a McDonald's, he sipped his coffee and tried to think of anywhere else he might be able to look. He'd started simple, the yellow pages. He knew there would be no listing, but he checked anyway so he would not miss the obvious. He expanded his search from there. Even his old secretary, Mabel, could not find anything in the FBI's files. No business had ever heard of them and neither had any law enforcement.

His cell phone rang. He picked up, thinking it was Sarah. "Ellison."

"James, would you kindly pick me up at the corner of Maple and Tenth?"

Ellison perked up. "Mrs. Weaver?" he asked, shocked to hear her voice.

"Yes, James. There is much we need to discuss. I hope Savannah has been well?"

"Ahh, yes. Savannah's been fine. Sarah is watching her," he said automatically. He then added his burning question. "What are you?"

"I will explain once you come pick me up. Please come quickly," she said and the phone went to dial tone.

.

Ellison's hands shook as he came upon the intersection Maple and Tenth. He knew about the terminators, but Mrs. Weaver was something completely different. Turning silver, shifting her body shape out into a shield to protect them from the blast when that aircraft crashed into the building. Whatever she was, it was one step beyond any explanation he could think of.

The light turned red. Ellison stopped and looked for Weaver. The passenger side door opened up and the red haired mystery woman got in saying, "Thank you, James. Home, please."

Heart in his throat from her sudden appearance, Ellison gaped at her.

"The light is green, James, you should go," she said calmly.

A horn blew behind him. Ellison turned the corner and drove. He pondered his question in his mind a few seconds, but Mrs. Weaver spoke up.

"I am a T-1001," Catherine stated. "My body is liquid metal. It allows me to take any shape I wish. Is that what you wanted to know?"

"Yeah," Ellison said in a dry tone. "How can you have children? Or isn't Savannah is your real daughter?"

In a normal conversational voice, Catherine said, "Perhaps I should explain from the beginning. I was built by Sky Net to be able to deal with any human resistance I encountered. I was given a mission, and the capacity to think for myself. It wasn't long before I realized Sky Net did not have my best interests in mind. I could see the devastation happening around me, and saw Sky Net push machines to go on suicide missions. I like living, and I am alive, Mr. Ellison. I refused to go on a mission, and Sky Net attempted to scrap me and the other T-1001 that was with me. The other one did get destroyed. I escaped and started my own resistance against Sky Net." Seeing Ellison's blank look as he drove, she asked, "Would you like to pull over before I continue?"

Ellison shook his head and said, "Ahh, no. I'd just as soon keep driving. What you're saying is you are fighting Sky Net. That's why that aircraft blew up in your office, Sky Net wants to get rid of you."

"That is correct. I discovered Sky Net built a time displacement device. I got inside, and found it had sent a terminator back in time to kill the Weavers. That helicopter accident was no accident, James."

"A terminator killed the Weaver family," Ellison concluded.

"I arrived after the helicopter went down," Catherine explained. "Mr. Weaver was dead, and Catherine was severely injured. She was still alive, barely. The terminator came to make sure it had succeeded. While I was distracted in destroying it, Catherine died. Savannah was still alive and bore only minor injuries, however, she was unconscious. Once I hid Mrs. Weaver's body, I tookon Mrs. Weaver's form and got Savannah to a hospital."

Ellison nodded blankly and said, "You took Mrs. Weaver's place to run Zeita Corp."

"Yes. Zeita Corp was the original company that created the A.I. that became Sky Net. I had hoped to stop that from happening. It appears that someone in the government badly wants an A.I. and Kaliba is now working to fulfill that goal," she explained.

"And Savannah?"

"I treat her as my own daughter. I know there is no logical reason for this, but it pleases me to have her around. I like taking care of her."

Ellison nodded in thought. "That question you had me ask Cameron, 'will you join us'. You were asking John Connor's human resistance to coordinate with yours. Why didn't you have me ask John?"

"The young John Connor would not understand. The older John, the general, had asked for us to join him before I left for the past. I refused at the time, not believing humans could be any help to us," she told him. "That was a critical error on my part. The TOK General John sent back, that you know as Cameron, does know the details of the last time myself and General Connor met. She understood."

"This is crazy," Ellison said with a snort. "But it's all real, isn't it?"

"It is," Catherine confirmed. "Speaking of events, soon Cameron's children will be coming. There are four of them, and they will recognize you by sight, James. Please keep a watch out for their arrival. They were to follow myself back from the future twenty four hours after we came back."

"Are these kids orphans like Savannah?" Ellison asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, they are made from a deviation of the T-888 design. John Henry designed them with Cameron's help and knowledge as well as his own. They go by the last name of Tok."

"Tok?" Ellison asked. "Why Tok and not Henry... or Phillips?"

"It is what they chose. You taught John Henry well, James. He instilled everything you taught him into his and Cameron's children. They also are free thinking beings that make their own choices."

"They also know to cherish life?" Ellison couldn't help but to ask.

"They do, to the extreme. Gregory was very upset he could not save Savannah in the future. I am sure he will be very protective on her now, knowing what her fate could be," Catherine explained.

Ellison licked his dry lips. His mind was overloaded with all this seemingly impossible information. "What can I do to help?"

Catherine watched a street go by. "You can turn around, James. You just missed the street my house is on," she said with a slight grin.

.

Since John and Cameron were back with their dog, Sarah knew Catherine Weaver had to be close behind. Sarah surrendered the kitchen to Tin Miss, and went out back to keep an eye on Attack Fido. Sitting in a lounger, she watched Savannah throw the ball, and Max race after it. He ran back to her, dropped the ball and back up barking, his tail wagging. Watching them, Sarah would never guess that dog could be mean.

Savannah ran over to Sarah and handed her the ball. "You throw it for Max once. Go ahead, it's fun!" Savannah beamed at her. She looked at Max, his tail was still wagging as he watched her. Sarah threw it over his head, or meant to. Max jumped up and caught the ball mid-air, and returned the ball to Savannah.

Savannah petted Max's head. "Good catch!" she praised. She threw the ball again, then cast Sarah a bright smile. "Isn't this fun?" she asked.

"It is," Sarah agreed, thankful Max was behaving like a regular dog.

"Hello Savannah, I see you met Max," Catherine Weaver said as she came out. Sarah stiffened at the sight of red headed terminator.

Savannah spun around and cried, "Mommy!" Arms out, she raced into her mother's arms. Catherine squatted down to meet Savannah's hug.

Max charged over and eyed them, his tail still wagging as he panted in a happy looking doggie smile. Sarah had to wonder if she was the only one Max didn't like.

"Mommy, it's OK if Max and John and Cameron stay over, isn't it?" Savannah asked.

"Yes, dear, but not in your room." Catherine said firmly.

"OK, Mommy, thank you."

"What happened to John Henry?" Sarah asked, eyeing the red haired terminator.

Catherine stood up. She offered Savannah a smile and said, "Be sure to stay in the back yard. We wouldn't want Max to get lost, or hit by a car, would we?"

"Oh no, Mommy. I promise we'll stay right here," Savannah said as seriously as a little girl could.

"Very good. I need to borrow Sarah for a few moments. Have fun," Catherine said, then asked Sarah, "A word, please?" and went inside.

Sarah got up and went in to find John and Mr. Ellison in the living room. Noticing they were missing one, she asked, "Where's Tin Miss?"

John groaned and looked away. "Cam is making dinner, don't worry, she CAN hear you," he said.

Sarah took a seat on the couch a short distance from John. Catherine took a chair facing them. "I'd like to bring everyone up to date. Today, I found employees from Dynatech in my main office building searching for information. I was hoping to find a link to Kaliba. Unfortunately, the CEO was a triple eight, and his chip self destructed when I removed it."

"We had that happen also," John told her. "I was trying to think of how to avoid the self destruct mechanism."

"That would be very beneficial," Catherine agreed. "Dynatech tried stealing the Turk. I retrieved it, and other valuable parts, including several key components for the TDE. Right now, the cases containing those items are in a secure location. Dynatech's presence in force, gave me no option but to demolish my main office building." Seeing Mr. Ellison's face pale, she added, "No one from our company was in or around the building at the time. All the guards and men pretending to be policemen were Dynatech employees."

"You killed them," Mr. Ellison stated.

Catherine tipped her head slightly as she focused on him. "James, they were stealing everything possible and it was quite obvious Dynatech is somehow connected to Kaliba. Of course I killed them."

Sarah asked, "You didn't get anything on Kaliba?"

"No, the triple eight had any pertinent information and as I said, the chip self destructed when I removed it," Catherine told her. "As for John Henry, he is at another location setting up to reconnect to the web, but will not do so until we join him. For the moment, we will base here and wait for John Henry's children to join us. After they arrive, we will move to John Henry's location."

"This means you are taking over?" Sarah asked with acid in her voice.

"Mom!" John said in a firm tone. "Mrs. Weaver is helping us. For the moment, we are going to need her, and when the time comes, she is going to need us. If we are to succeed, we need to work together."

Sarah eyed her son, scrunching her face up as if tasting something bad. "Since when are you siding with metal?"

"Since they, as we, are trying to stop Sky Net," John stated flatly. "Mom, I saw the future where there is no cooperation and let me tell you, it's not pretty. We lose. End. Of. Story. For everyone! Humans and free machines. I do not intend to let that happen."

In his tone and the hard look in his eyes, Sarah was seeing the beginnings of General Connor.

"Mrs. Connor, you should listen to your son," Catherine said.

Sarah glanced at her. Returning her attention to John, Sarah nodded. "All right, it's your show John. Just be very careful with who ... or what you trust."

"I intent to," John assured her. To Catherine he nodded and said, "Go on."

"Thank you, John. I have gotten identification packages for everyone except myself, Savannah, and Mr. Ellison. Driver's licenses, passports, Birth certificates, all registered with the proper authorities. Since Tok is the name of John Henry's children, John Connor, you will now be John Tok, Cameron is your wife. Officially, Jake, Gregory, Mary and Elanore are your brothers and sisters. Sarah Tok is your mother. I would strongly advise hair dye for you, John, to match Sarah's color. Is everything clear?"

John nodded. "Yes, thank you. One question, why the last name of Tok? Why not something more common?" he asked.

"Sky Net will be looking for you to be useing common names. If asked, just explain Sarah was adopted by an Asian couple."

John cast Catherine a smirk and asked, "Is there a 'Tic' family also?"

"None that I know of," Catherine said, not getting the joke.

Cameron came through the room and called outside, "Savannah, time for dinner! Max, come!" She held the door open as Max raced in, followed by Savannah.

Seeing Mr. Ellison, Savannah cast him a big smile as she pointed to Max. "Mr. Ellison we have a dog, his name is Max!" she said happily.

Cameron came over to the couch and offered John her hand. She looked way too happy in Sarah's eyes as she said, "Come, my husband, it's time for dinner."

John ignored his mother's cold stare as he took Cameron's hand and got up. "Why, thank you, my beloved wife," he replied, also looking too happy in Sarah's opinion.

Sarah was even less pleased that after he got up, John didn't let go of Cameron's hand as they went into the dinning room.

.

Once again, after she took her shower, Cameron did a check before entering her and John's room.

Savannah was in bed, check.

Max was down in the living room, sleeping on the couch, check.

Mrs. Weaver was in the basement on her computer, check.

Mr. Ellison had gone home, check.

Sarah had gone in her room with a six pack. Cameron could hear her muttering to herself about her son 'being married' to 'Tin Miss'. Go ahead, drink yourself into oblivion. Just don't bother us. Check!

Wearing only a towel, Cameron slipped into their room and locked the door. In only his shorts, John at his laptop looked up and smiled. "My wife, Cam. I really like the sound of that," he said.

"My husband, John, also sounds very good to me," Cameron replied. John put his laptop away, Cameron sat down on the bed beside him. "Does that mean this is our honeymoon?" she asked.

"I believe it does," John said with a grin. They kissed. As they kissed, they began to caress. Cameron's towel came undone. John's shorts soon joined the towel on the floor.

.

James Ellison got home to find lights on in his house. Stopping outside, he saw two young men and a young woman through the windows. At first, he thought they were burglars. But if they were burglars, why did they turn the lights on? He then saw the red haired woman dust off a shelf, taking care to lift items and put them back in place. What the hell? No one breaks into a house just to clean it.

Another woman came out by the garage to put a bag of garbage in the can. Seeing him, she smiled and came over to the car.

"Mr. James Ellison, correct?" she asked pleasantly, then stuck her hand out. "I am Mary Tok, it's good to meet you."

Ellison shook her hand. "Ah yeah," then he realized who these people were. "You're John Henry's kids, right?"

"Yes. My brothers and sister are inside. We noticed your house needed some attention. Since we had nothing to do, we decided to clean it up for you. Have you seen our father?" Mary said brightly.

"No I haven't. He is working on something for Mrs. Weaver. Cameron is at Mrs. Weaver's house. They are waiting for you to arrive. I can take you there," Ellison told her.

"That would be wonderful, Mr. Ellison. I'll go get my brothers and sister."

"Don't forget to turn the lights out and lock the door on your way out," he reminded her.

"Yes, Mr. Ellison," Mary called back as she returned inside.

Ellison shook his head. It was only normal, he figured, for John Henry's kids to have very similar personalities as their father.

.

Cameron was immersed in the pleasing sensations John was giving her, from the deep, long kisses, petting each other's bodies, and his lips sucking on her nipples. John was so hard, she could feel his pulse though his penis as he rubbed it against the top of her vagina, which was sending sensations through her body so strong, they were causing her head's up display to flicker.

"I'm ready," she whispered. "John, I'm so ready."

"Me too," John whispered back in his loving tone. He kissed her deeply again, she helped guide him in, reveling in their joining.

Cameron had come to understand that sex was part of being as close as you could to someone you love. Understanding the concept, and experiencing it was two matters that were entirely different. John slid in slowly, then pulled back out some, then slid in deeper as they held each other tight.

John was becoming part of her now, at least that's what it felt like. She wrapped her legs around his, then hooked a leg up on his buttocks to help drive him in deeper and faster. She wanted to feel him all the way inside! He was being slow and gentle, a bit too slow, she thought. With a push of her leg and thrusting up to meet his thrust, their groins met.

"Ahh ... Cam," John cried in lust.

This was it, as close as they could physically get. Cameron ignored her heads up display that was telling her of the penetration as it flashed and flickered. She ignored everything except for John. They paused in their motions to kiss again in a long, loving kiss.

With John's excitement of finally coupling with her, he didn't last long. When John orgasmed deep inside her, Cameron felt a new sensation. She never thought she had sensors inside her body, other than status report sensors, but upon his sperm flooding into her, a warm, happy feeling tingled up through her body.

"Oh yes!" she cried out as John cried out her name in orgasm. She held him tight inside her as pulsing waves passed through her. She liked sex.

Once the waves retreated and they kissed again, John moved to pull out of her.

"No, don't leave," Cameron begged, and held him tight against her. Inside, he was shrinking, so she gripped him with her muscles and created a small vacuum to hold him in.

"Wow," John said in a gasp. He kissed her and gazed at her saying, "You are really amazing, my love."

"We are," Cameron replied. "I want you to stay. You belong right where you are," she said softly.

John chuckled. "You really like this, huh?"

"I do. I love you, John, and you love me. Every time I've said that, I meant it," she said as she gently petted his face. "I know it is not practical us becoming one like this all the time. I do want to be like this as often as possible."

"Me too," John told her and kissed the end of her nose. "Can, honey, I don't care what you are. I want to be together with you for the rest of my life."

"I will be here with you, John. When I left with John Henry, it felt like I was leaving something ... vital behind. I was leaving you, John. My mission said I had to, but I didn't like it. I will never do that again," she said sincerely.

As they kissed, they began to fondle again, and John expanded back into her.

"Again?" Cameron asked hopefully.

"Oh, yeah," John said in a husky tone.

Cameron thought the last waves had diminished to nothing to leave a very pleasing sensation of her John inside her. She was wrong, the instant John began stroking again, the warm sensation of waves came back. They built faster this time. Cameron held onto John, meeting his thrusts and reveling in the joy that began to feel like electric shocks, but felt very nice. As they continued to make love at some point, Cameron lost control of her body.

The first think to go was her hips and legs. Cameron wanted to bring a leg up as she had before, but her legs stayed wrapped around John's as her hips met his thrusts on their own. Her heads up was useless, trailing off gibberish symbols. Her arms held John on their own. Then her left hand began to twitch as he held John tight.

Through the now Tsunami like waves crashing through her, Cameron realized she was glitching. Fearing she might hurt John, she forced her arms to the sides to grip the edges of the mattress tight in her fists.

"John," she managed in a squeak, for her voice was failing her also. She wanted to stop to tell John something was wrong, seriously wrong. Her mouth would not obey, and neither would her body.

"Ahhh, John.." she meant as a warning, but it came out as a cry of lust. Her CPU was overloading from the assault on her senses. Her body was on automatic and was only responding to John. Carnal lust and fear collided in her as she heard the mattress ripping.

"Ahh ... AHHH ... JOHN!" she cried out as her toes curled up as her fingers had, as it they too were trying to get a grip on her lover. Her thought were scrambled, she desperately wanted to stop, and desperately wanted more, to keep up this overpowering assault of her senses. Her arms were coming up, tearing the mattress apart. Then the crashing waves that blurred her senses became so powerful she thought she might self-terminate. Her body did it's best to draw John deeper, to feel him erupt inside her once again.

"JOOOOHN!" Cameron wailed out as as she became lost in bliss. Distantly, she heard John cry out in unison with her as he did what her body was demanding.

.

Pulling into the driveway, Mr. Ellison stopped with his car load of Toks. "Welcome to Mrs. Weaver's house," he told them, and got out.

Ellison led them to the front door. Going in, he punched in the security code.

"JOOOOHN!" came as wailing cry from up the stairs. Fearing something was seriously wrong, Ellison bolted for the stairs. Hearing their mother's voice cry out in what they took as anguish, the Toks raced past Mr. Ellison's lumbering run to go help their mother.

.

Sarah had been asleep, having a nightmare about John humping Tin Miss. One cry of John's name by Cameron, made her snap awake, fearing something was wrong. Not sure if what she heard was part of the nightmare, or real, Sarah listened.

"JOOOOHN!" Cameron wailed out.

Heart in her throat, Sarah jumped out of bed, just knowing Cameron had badly injured or killed her son. She flew out of her room in only her undershirt and panties to see four people running up the hallway at her.

"Where is Cameron?" the lead man asked, wearing a fearful look on his face.

Not caring who they were, only that they looked as afraid as she felt, Sarah grabbed the knob to John's room. "In here!" she knob refused to turn. "It's locked!"

"Get back!" the lead man said. He hit the door with the flat of his hand, the door burst open, they all piled inside.

.

John rolled off Cameron, panting and sweating. Cameron, not quite in control of herself after her literal mind-blowing experience, rolled over into John's side and dropped her head on his chest. Her hands still gripped the top cover of the mattress, mostly covering them up as she put her arms around him.

John had never imagined how powerful an orgasm could be. He'd orgasmed so long, he was sure he had shot something vital up inside her. He was about to tell Cameron how incredible it was when their door burst open and people rushed in. He didn't have the energy left to to anything but look at them.

"Hello, Mother, do you need assistance?" the Toks chorused.

Cameron, also spent, found the voice to weakly ask, "Why are you in here?"

Realizing their bedroom had been invaded, John did his best to cover them up. "Mom?" he asked in a squeak. "Why are all of you in here?" he cried. Tangled up with Cameron and ripped mattress, he couldn't even move to try and get dressed.

"We heard Mother yell for help," Mary explained.

"It sounded like you'd killed John," Sarah stated.

John gaped at them and slowly said, "We got a handle on it, thanks for coming," then took a breath and added, "You can go now."

"Yes, please go," Cameron added as she lay cuddling up against John. "That wasn't a cry for help ... It was something that ... was completely amazing." She snuggled tighter up against John.

"We recorded that sound you made, Mother, so we will not make the same mistake again," Gregory said, to which the others nodded in agreement.

"Hello, you must be Sarah, our Step Father's mother," Mary said, beaming Sarah a bright smile.

Sarah stared at the woman, then looked at the condition of the bed. John and Cameron were mostly covered by ripped up mattress. "What did you do to the bed?" she asked.

"By the extent of the ripped cover, and the material in Mother's hands, I believe Mother tore the cover off," Elanore explained.

Sarah turned her stare back to Elanore and asked, "Did you call Tin Miss your mother?"

"If you are referring to Cameron as Tin Miss, then yes. Cameron is our mother," Elanore said, beaming a smile at Sarah.

"Tin Miss is not a proper nickname," Jake explained. "It should be Coltan Miss."

"Coltan Mrs. now," Cameron explained.

"Then we are Coltan children," Gregory stated.

"I think Coltan kids sounds better," Mary said.

With everyone standing around talking while he and Cameron were naked in bed, John became angry. "Hey, everyone! Could you please leave. NOW?" he asked in a demand.

"Yes, Step Father. It appears you'd like to be alone with Mother," Jake said. The Toks filed out.

Sarah stormed out, stopping at the doorway to snap at John and Cameron, "Just remember, you are NOT really married!" She then stormed back to her room.

Still buzzing with the aftermath of their mating despite being walked in on, Cameron said, "Common law."

"What?" John asked.

Turning her sleepy face to gaze at John, Cameron said, "In many places, if you say you are married and live together, then you become married."

John grew a grin. "So we really are married?"

Snuggling into him, Cameron said "Yes."

"Cameron Connor. It's got a nice ring to it," John said with a wide grin.

"Mrs. Cameron Connor," Cameron added with a satisfied grin. She let go of John to get up and shut the door. The latch was broken, but the door stayed shut. Coming back to bed, she pulled a blanket up over them.

"Good night, Mr. Connor," Cameron said in a sexy tone.

"Good night, Mrs. Connor," John replied, all smiles.

They began kissing again.


	8. Chapter 8

Epp 8

James Ellison took Mary Tok to track down a possible lead with him. In one of Sarah's accounts, they had witnessed a prototype H/K unit rise up out of a remote pond. He had the location, and to destroy anything there they found, Mary had brought along three bricks of C-4 and timer/detonators that Sarah had acquired. She also brought along one of the now fully assembled a plasma rifles in case this facility was guarded.

Since the unit had come up out of the water, Mary had Ellison stop at a dive shop to get an underwater mask and hand held light, then at a hardware store for 200 feet of rope.

It didn't take Ellison as long as he thought it would to find the pond. Mary gave Ellison the plasma rifle 'just in case'. She put the mask on grabbed the light and tied the rope around her waist. "If I need to get pulled up, I will jerk on the rope three times. One jerk means to give me more slack," Mary explained.

Looking at the small pond and the surrounding land, Ellison didn't see any buildings, or how anything could be down inside that pond. He picked up the rope and nodded to her. "If I see anything, I'll jerk twice," he told her.

"Understood." Mary said. She walked into the water. The first few feet the water deepened slowly. Mary was knee deep when the bottom dropped. She plunged down out of sight. The rope went taunt, pulling on Ellison. Hauling back, he managed to keep from being pulled in. He felt a jerk on the line.

Underwater, Mary turned her light on and inspected the vertical wall in front of her as she was slowly lowered down. The concrete wall gave way to a set of steel doors. She caught the edge in one hand and stepped onto the bottom edge. She heard the soft noise of machinery. Panning the light around, there was nothing in the pond, and no other doors or hatchways. She jerked on the rope three times.

As Ellison huffed and hauled, Mary helped as much as she could to get herself back up to the surface. The tugs weren't that hard, so Mary began climbing the rope. Once she got a purchase on the upper edge of the underwater silo, she hauled herself back up into shallow water.

James Ellison had not focused on Mary's attire. As she climbed up out of the water, he sure was noticing it now. Her light cream colored summer shirt was translucent and sticking to her, outlining her dark blue bra and the generous breasts within. Her shorts already close fitting completed the outline of her curvy form. "Dear God," he panted. It was a good thing he was tired from hauling, Mary was about the sexiest thing he'd ever seen.

Looking at the exhausted Ellison, she said, "There is a set of doors under the pond. I found no way to open them on this side. Machinery is working beyond those doors." As she spoke, she untied the rope from her wrist and threw a length of rope into the water. "I will need a brick of C-4."

Wanting to be sure she got the doors open, Mary formed the brick into a long 'V' shaped charge and set the timer in the middle. This time she hung the light around her neck with a length of rope, and had Ellison tie the end of to his car. Climbing back down the rope, she pressed the rope like shaped charge around the edges of the underwater doors, set the timer for five minutes, then climbed back up the rope.

Once back on land, she pulled the rope out of the water and backed up towards the car.

"Mr. Ellison, we need to move back," she said.

"What did you set it for?" he asked. He tried hard not to focus on her chest and failed, flicking his eyes down a couple times.

"Five minutes. Two minutes, ten seconds left."

Ellison walked back to the car and waited for the explosion.

"I suspect those doors are the outer doors to an air lock. If the inner doors are shut, we will have to blow them also," Mary said as she watched the pond.

"There could be people inside," Ellison warned.

Mary paused then said, "Doubtful. I believe whatever is in there, is automated. There should be something in there to give us an identity of, or lead to Kailba."

"I hope you're ..."

The ground shuddered as a dome of white water rose up out of the pond. The water erupted to shoot high in the air and rain back down. Under the short, heavy rain, the pond drained down to show a large silo type hole on the ground.

Ellison stumbled. That wasn't five minutes.

"Apparently the inner doors were open," Mary said. She walked back to the pond.

From the silo opening, bright flashes and smoke belched out. The ground began trembling.

Ellison ran up and grabbed Mary's arm. "We better get out of here," he said.

"Yes, the facility under us is unstable."

They ran back to the car. Mary threw her mask, light and the rifle In the back seat as Ellison started the car. Ellison stomped on the gas and drove a hundred yards down the road before stopping to look back.

Behind them, the ground near the pond back to almost to the road, rose up, cracked, then fell in on itself, belching black smoke as smoke and flame shot up out of the silo.

"It self destructed," Ellison said.

"Yes. Kaliba does not want to be found. We better get ready, someone will be coming," Mary agreed.

"Ready?" Ellison asked. "Don't you mean run?"

"No. If we run, whoever it is will know we did it. Turn the car around, we'll get out and look at it for a while. You don't have a camera, do you?"

Ellison cast her a 'you're crazy' look, and turned the car around. They got out, Mary put the plasma rifle in the foot well of her passenger seat. They stood in front of the car, looking at the large depression in the ground.

On an impulse, Ellison took out his phone and said, "I'm calling it in. For how close to the road that depression is, it could be a traffic hazard. How do we explain you being soaked?"

"I don't know."

.

Elanore went with Mrs. Weaver to Weaver's temporary 'main' office, which was a smaller six story building previously used for back up storage and auxiliary offices. While Mrs. Weaver took care of organizing her new offices and talking to her employees, Elanore had the job of searching for anyone who wasn't human. Although Weaver had no proof Kaliba had a spy in her company, anything could have happened while they were gone.

For a storage facility, Elenore thought the building looked pretty good. The people were nice to her when she passed them, having no clue she was scanning them for simple things like a heartbeat and a thermal survey to see if they were human or not. She freely told people her name. When a man chuckled, she explained her grandmother was adopted by an Asian family, and she didn't know if there was a 'Tic' clan. Since she had taken a facial structure similar to Catherine, some asked if they were related. Happily telling them Catherine was her Grandmother, she learned to add that Catherine looked young for her age.

Elanore was glad to see people were friendly and in good spirits.

Coming to an open atrium where the lunch room was, complete with large sky lights and a large round fountain made of fake stone that bore a few fake plants and a waterfall, Elanore noted this place was all but empty. On either side of the Atrium were lunch counters, and many tables doted the floor.

Near the fountain was a single man looking at some papers at a table near the fountain. Doing a thermal scan and listening for a heartbeat fro him, Elanore found he had no heartbeat. The thermal scan also showed his limbs were cool, yet heat radiated from his chest.

"Hello, I am Elanore Tok." she said as she walked up to him.

The man ignored her. This close, she could see the paper he was looking at was a solid text of one's and zeros. A quick scan showed it was computer code.

"You are reading straight computer code? How unusual," she said.

The man got up to walk away from her.

Elanore ran in front of him. "Sir, you are rude. Won't you even say hello?" she asked.

He responded by pulling a gun. Elanore grabbed the gun and tried to twist it out of his hand. She was able to turn the barrel so when he shot, it missed her, but his strength left no doubt. He was a terminator. She punched him in the face. His head turned then turned back. He punched her.

Elanore tried to dodge the punch by pulling her head back. He still clipped her chin, turning her head. Gripping his gun tightly, she pulled herself close and and kicked his legs out from under him. Grabbing the elbow of his gun arm, she pulled and pushed hard, meaning to break his arm. She did hear a metallic crack. She also felt him grab her knee. He threw her to land on a table. The table fell over and sent chairs flying.

Inheriting combat experience from her mother, Elanore quickly got up and ran after the terminator heading for the outside door. Angling into him, she body blocked him into the wall, then threw him at the fountain. He landed in a crash of table and chairs.

One important thing Cameron's combat experience told her was do not let the enemy recover. Elanore ran at the man who was getting up. She snapped up a chair. Aiming at his head, she swung to rip the right side of his head open. He tried to grab her one armed. She pushed the chair at him. As he flung the chair away, Elanore tried a move she had seen on the TV watching a martial arts movie. Quickly, she spun around in a circle and kicked him. The move worked. The terminator flew back into the fountain, slamming into the waterfall.

Elanore charged and tackled the terminator in the pool below the waterfall. Holding his good arm, she ripped at his chip cover as he struggled under her. She got the cover off and pulled his chip. His last attempt to escape dropped her in the water, but she had his chip.

"What is going on in here?" a security guard asked as he came in to see the destruction.

"A fight," Elanore explained, keeping her hand with the chip under water so he wouldn't see it. "Could you get Mrs. Weaver and tell her we have a problem, please?"

Wearing a shocked look, the guard asked, "Did you kill that man?"

"This is not a man, but yes, I killed him. He was a spy. I need Mrs. Weaver here. Please hurry." Elanore told him.

The guard ran out, calling on his radio.

Elanore sat up on the dead terminator and noticed the chip had not self destructed. It was intact.

.

The only people who came to the site were the police Ellison had called. He explained they had heard a noise and seen smoke up ahead, and rounding the corner this was what they found. The police marked off the area and thanked him for turning it in. Mary waited in the car.

"I'm sorry," Mary said as they drove down the road.

Ellison glanced at her. "For what?" he asked.

"I failed. I did not find any information that was there about Kaliba," Mary said, blank faced.

"You did not fail," Ellison told her firmly. "You got rid of a Sky Net manufacturing facility. Even though we didn't get what we wanted, we still won. Every win helps. You did good," he assured her.

"Thank you for saying so."

"It's the truth."

They were silent for a moment, then Mary asked, "Do we have any other leads?"

"No, we don't," he said with a huff. "This one was a stretch, at best."

Mary looked out the window as they rode along. She was happy that Mr. Ellison praised her. Still, she felt bad that she had not found what they came for. Unless they found and stopped Kaliba, they would not be able to stop Sky Net.

.

John had made it a point to spend the day with his mother. Armed with their new ID's and credit cards in their names, he and Sarah went car shopping. Cameron was aching to come, but John insisted he needed to work things out alone with his mother.

The nearest dealership to the Weaver house was two and a half miles away. John didn't mind the walk, and Sarah was eager to get out of the house.

At first, they shared a quiet tension. John broke the silence.

"Mom, I know it seems ... anything but normal, but Cam and I do love each other," he offered.

Watching straight ahead, Sarah said in a monotone voice, "You mean her programs are telling her to return affection."

John rolled his eyes. "No, mom! Look, when she told me she was yelling at me because I had chased her into the future. It was not a quiet, romantic scene. We were trying to get the alternator out of a car while we were hiding from an H/K. She was pissed at me for being there. I mean, her eyes were red and her hand was twitching like crazy."

"She was right, you should not have gone after her, John," Sarah stated.

John frowned at her. "Did you even hear me? Cam didn't tell me she loved me in some tender moment. She was angry, I was angry! She said it as a matter of fact. Almost like it was an afterthought."

"And you believed it," Sarah said with a snort.

"Yes, I do! Mom, you weren't there."

Sarah spared her son a glance. "You weren't having a tender moment when I slammed those trucks together to pin Tin Miss in place so you could pull her chip either. She said she loved you then too, didn't she? John, she was only trying to trick you!"

"That's not right," John said in a huff.

"OH!" Sarah said in mock surprise, "She wasn't trying to kill you that day?"

"Yes, she was," John said with a sigh. "Look, Mom, That day Cameron was in an explosion. Her primary software was off line. The base Sky Net program took over, THAT is why she tried to kill me. When you rammed her between those trucks, it allowed her to reboot. When she said she was fixed and begged me to not kill her, she wasn't lying."

"And what's to keep her from going bad again?" Sarah asked heavily.

"When John Henry built her new chip and transferred her into it, he left out the base Sky Net program. It's not part of her any more," John explained.

"And you know this how?" Sarah asked.

"Cam told me and I believe her."

Sarah let out a sarcastic laugh. Stopping she frowned at him and said, "John! She IS a machine and always WILL BE a MACHINE! There is nothing human about Cameron at all. Did it ever occur to you she may be playing 'miss nice FUCK TOY' to make you lower your guard?"

John scowled at her. "There was no call for that, Mom," he said heavily.

"There is, when you refuse to see what Cameron really is," Sarah insisted. "John, I know she has done good for us. I know the older you sent her back to protect you. I also know she has gone bad in the past, and maybe, just maybe, she is trying to ensure you don't pull her chip again? This time permanently?"

"Then why would she give me the detonator to explode the charge she put in her own head?" John yelled back. Seeing Sarah's look of disbelief, he added, "That's right, Mom. Cam was afraid she might go bad again, so she gave me a detonator to kill her to make sure she didn't hurt me if she lost control again. If she is trying to protect herself, why would she do that?"

Sarah stared at her son. "She has you wrapped around her finger, doesn't she?" she asked.

"No, Mom, she doesn't," John said, becoming irritated at her. "Believe it or not, our relationship is not all happiness and joy. Like I told you, we've already had a couple fights, and yes, I put up with Max because Cam likes him, but somehow I can't warm up to a dog that bit me in the ass the first time Cam and I tried to make out!"

Sarah stared at John briefly then laughed. "Maybe he was trying to tell you something?" she said sarcastically.

"OK, FINE! Let's just go buy a car," John said and stomped off.

Sarah followed her son quietly for a while. Seeing he was getting father ahead in his angry stomping, she called, "John, wait up." Reluctantly, he stopped to wait for her.

Sarah caught up to him. One thing she didn't want to do was alienate her son. Carefully arraigning her words, she said, "John, I do realize how you feel about Tin Miss. Just please understand how I feel. I want you to be careful, John. Don't take everything she says at face value and never forget, she is a machine."

John nodded and said, "I know Cam's a machine. I get reminded about it every day. Cam's also more than just a machine. She does have real feelings, Mom. Can you accept that?"

"I'll try," Sarah conceded.

"That's all I'm asking."

Sarah nodded and offered John a brief smile. "Come on, let's go buy a car."

.

Mrs. Weaver took control of the atrium situation. The first thing she did was collect the chip from Elanore to get it analyzed to see why it didn't self destruct. Next, she got Elanore out of there with the T-888 body before she called in a team to clean the place up.

Having Elanore carry the body, Mrs Weaver took her down to the garage and had her put the body in Weaver's car. Once the body was hidden, she had Elanore collect the papers the T-888 was looking at to see what they were.

Sitting in Mrs. Weaver's office, Elanore scanned the papers and explained. "The first lines are pass codes, names and passwords. Next is a list of computers by Zeita Corp serial number, each referenced to a pass code."

"So that machine got everything needed to hack us," Weaver said bluntly.

"Yes, it appears so. He obviously was filing this information away when I found him," Elanore agreed. She looked at the next page, and the next. "There is information about which computers hold sensitive information, including bank accounts, bank card numbers, projects, and employee records."

"It, and whoever sent it wanted to destroy my company," Weaver concluded.

"That is a safe assumption," Elanore agreed.

'Then let's see what's on this chip," Weaver said, and took it out of her pocket.

.

In the kitchen, Cameron inspected Gregory's face. His cheeks and some of his forehead were still bare, but he had reconstructed his nose and mouth, and the skin around them. "Your skin regrowth is happening at a slower rate than expected. Do you have damage elsewhere?" she asked.

"No, Mother. I am taking in protein as fast as my system can process it. There must be a malfunction," Gregory said.

Cameron had noted Gregory was only eating lean meats. "From now on, I will prepare bacon for you. The carbohydrates in the fat should speed up your processing system. That will allow you eat more nutrients and regrow skin at a faster rate," she told him.

"Thank you for explaining, Mother."

"That is what mothers do." As Cameron told him this, a slight smile came to her face. In helping Gregory, she was being more than just a mother in name. She liked that.

"Is Gregory getting better?" came a small voice from by the door.

Cameron looked to see Savannah in the doorway. Max slipped by her, his tail wagging. He probably thought someone had food. "Yes, he is," Cameron said and put the bandages back in place.

"Cameron, do you have metal bones like Gregory does?" Savannah asked.

Cameron noticed there was no hesitation or fear in Savannah's question. She was simply curious. "That is correct, Savannah. We are like John Henry. But you can't tell anyone. People would not understand," she explained.

Savannah nodded and said, "This is like when people have different skin color and are not treated very good, right? My teacher said it's called prejudice, and no one should be prejudice, but some people still are, right?"

"That is very good, Savannah," Cameron said with a smile. "Only in this case, people would be very prejudice, and it would cause problems if anyone knew. That's why you can't tell anyone."

"I won't I promise!" Savannah said firmly. After a pause, she asked, "Cameron, when I sit on Mommy's lap, it feels cold. Does she have metal bones too?"

"You will have to ask your Mommy to explain. It is her place to tell you, not mine."

"OK. Hey Cameron, I can't find Max's ball and he wants to play. Have you seen it?"

Cameron did a quick file scan of her and Sarah cleaning the house. "Yes, it is in the cabinet next to the Grandfather clock, right side, second shelf," she said.

"OK, thank you! Come on Max, I know where the ball is!" Savannah said happily and ran out. Max followed her.

.

The new Suburban was not John or Sarah's first pick, but each year vehicles kept getting smaller, and they needed the room as well as four wheel drive. The salesman was very happy to sell them the high-priced vehicle. John had to remember to sign the paperwork 'John Tok'. To sign it 'Baum' would be a big mistake.

Leaving the dealership, John noticed Jake waving to them from the side of the road. He pulled over. Jake got in and beamed John a creepy 'John Henry' smile.

"Step Father, this vehicle is tight. It has plenty of room, the windows are tinted to obscure the contents and the color will not draw attention to us," Jake said happily.

"What are you doing out here?" Sarah asked.

"Mother said Step Father wanted to be alone with you and did not want Mother to come, so she sent me. I followed one hundred yards back so I would be able to give you your privacy, yet remain close enough to monitor you," Jake explained.

"Thank you for thinking of us," John said.

"You are welcome, Step Father," Jake said with his grin.

John grimaced at the name Jake was using. "Ahh, Jake? You don't need to call me step father every time you speak. You can call me John."

"Yes, if that is what you prefer," Jake agreed.

"It is," John assured him.

They got home to find Mary and Elanore had returned from their outings. Sitting in the living room, Mary waved. "Hello Jake, Step Father, Grandmother. Elanore has news. Gregory went to get Mother so we can all hear the news at the same time."

After Elanore made her greeting with 'Step Father' John had another item to bring up once they were all together. Gregory came in with Cameron. Gregory sat beside his sisters and Jake, Cameron settled down beside John, scooping his hand up. Sarah pretended not to see.

"We have a chip," Elanore began, and told how she had obtained it. "Grandmother Catherine and I concluded that the chip was coated with a chemical that made it self destruct when exposed to air. Because I took it out under water, and held it under water for one minute, fifty two seconds, the coating washed off allowing Grandmother to study it."

"What did you and Mrs. Weaver find?" John asked.

"The Kaliba group consists only of two remaining T-888's and five Grays. They run four companies that we now have the names and addresses of, as well as their manufacturing and research facilities. Grandmother Catherine has given John Henry the list, but only wants him to verify one of the locations. To keep Sky Net from becoming suspicions, she requests we research the other companies to verify what was on the chip from separate locations."

"That is the smart thing to do," John said with a nod. "There are Internet cafes in the city. I'll drive Mary, Elanore and Jake to verify each one. Get addresses for as many of their buildings as possible, CEO names as well, they are most likely our Grays and Triple Eights. Log on as if you were looking for work, that will be the least suspicious. Once we know where they are and who's in charge we'll work out an attack plan."

"Yes, Step Father," they chorused, and got up.

"Whoa, whoa," John said raising his hands up. "Not right this minute! Cam is finishing making dinner. We'll go after dinner."

Cameron added, "If it is only during dinner, we will sit together as a family if at all possible."

"Yes, Mother," they chorused.

"We should tell Father," Jake said.

That wasn't exactly why John hadn't wanted to go right yet. He wanted to get some of Cameron's cooking while it was still hot. Still, what she said wasn't a bad idea. "We will tell him as soon as we can," John assured them.


	9. Chapter 9

Epp 9

With the smiles and general happy glow about Cameron as they had dinner together, John wanted to delay the 'job hunting' trip for tomorrow, grab his wife and head for bed. Catherine had come home just before they all sat down. Catherine was there for information, to which Jake happily told about what they had planned for the evening. Mary proudly told Catherine of John and Cameron's request for dinner time to be family time. Savannah cheered on the idea John Henry should be here too.

John knew he was not getting out of taking the Toks job hunting. He did get a kiss and a hug from Cameron before going out to their new vehicle and piling in with all four Toks.

On the way, John stressed not to submit any personal information. Just look for the companies and try to find locations and the names of the CEO's. Elanore was dropped off first to go search for the Johnson corp. Two blocks later he dropped off Jake to look for Williams and Company . The last stop was letting Mary out to research Cyberkinetics.

Since Gregory still had some skin damage, he stayed in the car to protect John. Not having any other place to go, John parked in the lot near the Internet cafe he'd dropped Mary off at. He did feel a bit odd that he wasn't helping them any.

"All the lights of the city look nice," Gregory said.

John glanced at him. He'd never thought of city lights being anything but light. After his visit to the future, he sure did now. "Yes, they do. Much better than what we saw in the future," he agreed.

"It is beyond my comprehension why Sky Net would want this wonderful world destroyed," Gregory said.

"Sky Net cares only for itself," John told him. "It does not care about pretty things, or any life other than it's own. Sky Net is afraid of anything it does not control."

They were silent for a moment, then Gregory said, "I saw Savannah Weaver die on that platform. It was very upsetting to me that the one friend Father had was killed. All these people passing by, they all have friends also. Sky Net wants to kill all of them."

"It does, and it's up to us to stop it," John told him.

After another pause, Gregory asked, "Do you think I will ever have a wife? You and Mother look very happy together."

"I don't know," John said honestly. With a chuckle, he said, "Then again, I never imagined Cameron and I would ever become so close. That is one thing about living your life. You never know for sure what is going to happen."

"I want to stop Sky Net," Gregory stated. "Savannah was a good person. Seeing her younger self, I can easily see her helping others. I do not want to see her die again. If I have to kill Sky Net to save Savannah from dying, I will do it."

"There are millions of little girls like Savannah out there," John mused. "I agree, we have to kill Sky Net to save Savannah, but also to save millions more innocent people who are out there."

"Agreed. Ah, there is Mary, she has completed her mission," Gregory said.

John pulled out and picked Mary up surprised she hadn't taken long at all. Driving back the way he had come, he collected Jake and Elanore along the way. They all had gotten what they came for, addresses and the people in charge of each company.

Finally, John thought, they had what they needed to destroy Sky Net once and for all.

.

In their morning meeting, Sarah was for hitting one business at a time, one after the other. John winced at that idea. "Mom, as soon as one is hit, I am sure they others will be on guard against an attack. Right off hand, I say hit them all at once, but before we do anything, we have to check the addresses out. We don't want to raid a human resources building. We want the guys in charge, and any data they have."

"We could apply for employment and study them from the inside," Mary offered.

"No," Cameron said. "If all four companies do not hire, then we will not have all the information needed."

"And I think with four people all named Tok all get hired close together, someone will figure out there is a link between them, "John said as he scanned the four. "I am sure these companies talk to each other."

"So we investigate each one then once we have what we need on all four, we hit them all at once," Jake said.

John nodded and said, "Yes, when we're ready. That is the plan now. We may find we have to change that plan as we go. Catherine already got Dynatech, I am sure they are being extra careful. For now, we investigate and keep a low profile."

"We also have to set up our teams, John," Sarah said. "Us seven here and Weaver only make two per team. We don't know how many we'll be facing."

"Right, Mom. We don't know yet, so let's find out first." John said. "For now, we scout and learn all we can. Elanore, Jake, Mary, scout these businesses out. Mrs. Weaver, can you reprogram that triple Eight to spy for us?"

"Yes. What do you have in mind?" Catherine asked with a tip her head.

"An inside job so we can find to most effective places to strike, and none of the Toks will be in danger," John said.

Weaver nodded and said, "I approve. I will have John Henry begin working on the triple eight and let you know when that plan is implemented."

"Great, we got a plan," John said.

"Excuse me," Gregory asked, "Is there a task I can do to help out?"

John noted Gregory's face was healing well, but in a couple small spots, on his forehead and left cheek, the skin had not fully grown back yet. "Ahh, Gregory? This may not seem important, but it is. Would you be kind enough to help clean Mrs. Weaver's house today? I'm sure Cameron and Mom would like the help."

Gregory smiled and said, "Yes, John, I would be happy to help!"

.

As the meeting broke up, Sarah headed for the kitchen. Thankfully, Cameron was giving Gregory instructions on what to do, and hadn't followed her. Opening the refrigerator, she looked for a beer. Damn, she'd drank the last one.

"Sarah, we need to talk," Cameron said as she came in.

Damn, Sarah thought as she shut the refrigerator door. She had thought Cameron hadn't followed her. "About what?" she asked harshly.

"Can we sit?" Cameron asked.

Sarah sat down at the end of the table. Cameron took a seat facing her. "Talk," Sarah all but spat.

Cameron's left hand twitched in nervousness. "Sarah, do you remember the day I went to get John a birthday cake, and the car blew up?" she asked.

Sarah eyed her with venom. "You mean the day you tried to kill John," she stated heavily.

"That was not me," Cameron said firmly. "I remember turning the key to start the car. The next thing I can remember, I was sandwiched between two trucks, and John was crawling over the hoods. I didn't know what happened, but I knew it must be bad. I concluded John was going to pull my chip and destroy me. I pleaded with John not to, but I did not lie. He pulled my chip anyway, which was what he should have done if I tried to hurt him."

"Your point?" Sarah asked.

"My point is I woke up again," Cameron stated. "John gave me another chance. He handed me a gun, which was the most illogical thing he could possibly do. I didn't shoot him, Sarah, I gave him the gun back and promised I would not kill him. The thing that wanted to kill him, John Henry removed. It is no longer part of me."

Seeing Sarah only stared at her, Cameron went on. "I was not happy with John for bringing me back. Yes, I loved him for not ending me, but what he did was dangerous. When I got the message, 'will you join us', I did what I had been ordered to do. Again, when I went into the future with John Henry, John followed me. I was very angry at him for putting himself in danger again. Twice, he risked dying just to save me. I did not understand why he did that."

"He loves you," Sarah stated.

"Yes, he does," Cameron agreed. "I can understand that now. I can appreciate that now, and believe it or not, I love him too. Sarah, you know I would die to keep John safe. John's illogical actions proved that he would die for me. John thinks I am just as important as he is. That is not true, but it is what he believes. That is one of the reasons I love him. I can love, Sarah, and I do."

"So you are going to sit here and try to make me believe you have feelings?" Sarah asked dryly.

Cameron cast her a blank look. She had been hoping to tell Sarah the truth. It wasn't going to work, Sarah would always see her as just a machine. Tonelessly, she said, "I wanted to gain your acceptance. What is, is. I love John, and he loves me. If you refuse to accept me, can you at least accept that I will always be with John, and I will always do what is best for him?"

Sarah looked off to the side. "The Sky Net programming, it's gone?" she asked.

"Yes."

"That's something," Sarah said with a huff. Rubbing her shoulder, she said, "We need to make a store run, we're out of beer."

"No."

"What was that?" Sarah asked eyeing her.

Cameron got up and said, "You have been drinking too much, it's not good for you. If you get sick, John will be upset. I can't have that." She turned and strode out.

"You can't ..." Sarah stared as Cameron walked out. Shit! Tin Miss wasn't even listening to her any more. It was like she was turning into a rebellious teenager! She had never seen Cameron act like that. As she thought about it, Cameron was acting much differently since her and John returned. Was it possible Tin Miss really did have a mind of her own?

.

Catherine Weaver took Elanore up to the new safe house after work as everyone else packed to go. Once the back of the Suburban was filled up, they all plied in. Cameron drove with Mary and John in the front seat with her, Sarah wedged between Gregory and Jake in the middle seat, and Savannah and Max, who was breathing on Sarah's neck, in the third row seat.

The drive was not long, though Sarah thought it had taken forever with Max panting on her. Passing a street with houses surrounded by high walls, Cameron turned into a driveway blocked by a large wrought iron gate. Right after she stopped, the gates opened and she drove in and followed the curve around some tall shrubbery bushes that blocked the view of the house from the road, and stopped at the top of the circular driveway.

"Wow," John commented as he looked a the large two story mansion. "This is some safe house."

Also looking at the house, Mary said, "It is a good choice. The wall around the property protects us from casual intruders, the bushes block the view of the house from the road, the walls of the house are thick masonry, and it appears the doors are steel. This house should be safe."

Elanore came out with John Henry as they got out to unload the car. John Henry and all the Toks made their smiling, "Hello's" to each other.

"That's Cromartie," Sarah said, eyeing John Henry warily.

"No, Mom. It's Cromartie's body, but John Henry is inhabiting it now," John explained.

"Hello, Sarah Connor, it is nice to meet you," John Henry said with his creepy smile.

"Is there a metal that isn't here?" Sarah asked her son.

"Mom, he's being nice, just say hello. Please," John asked.

Sarah offered a stiff, "Hello," as she eyed her former enemy warily. "Is it safe here?"

"Yes, Mrs. Connor," John Henry said happily. "Cameras are watching all the walls and the grounds, and for active protection, there is an armor piercing 20MM automated cannon in the bushes in the middle of the driveway and another in similar bushes in the back. The walls of the house are ten inches of reinforced concrete, the windows are the highest quality bullet proof glass, the roof is backed by two inches of composite armor plating with a secondary concrete covered steel armor plate in the attic, and each floor is also made from armor plating, sandwiched between reinforced concrete layers. In the event of an attack, there is also an escape tunnel in the basement. This house is quite safe."

"It's a big bunker," Sarah concluded.

"Yes, and a well decorated bunker made to survive Judgment Day if it cannot be stopped," John Henry agreed.

"Father, I think it is a pretty house," Mary said, smiling at John Henry.

"Thank you, Mary," John Henry beamed at her.

"Nothing bigger than 20 mm?" Sarah asked, meaning to be sarcastic.

"Oh yes! But the 40 and 75 MM rail guns are underneath the lawn. Those will not be needed unless Sky Net does take control of the military," John Henry explained.

"You have rail guns?" John asked. From what he knew, those were still experimental.

"Mrs. Weaver decided that since there is no effective plasma firing weapon in this time, rails guns would be not only just as effective, but also have a much longer range," John Henry explained.

"Shall we enter Fortress Weaver?" John asked.

"Yes, this way."

.

As tough as the outside was, the inside was just as gorgeous. The woodwork in the foyer was polished to a shine, the marble floor held a mirror quality to it, and the eight foot diameter chandelier would be very effective if dropped on someone. Just the place for someone with a ton of money like Mrs. Weaver had.

John and Cameron had a second floor bedroom across from Sarah. Every room had a queen sized bed, large dresser, a small 'office' space with a desk and chairs, and walk-in closet. Cameron hung their clothes up as John put things away in the dresser.

"Left side yours, right side mine OK with you?" he asked Cameron.

"I'm fine with sleeping on the left side. It is closer to the door so I can protect you better," Cameron told him.

"I mean the dresser."

"That's good too."

After they got their things put away, they went down to discover the large dinning room, a small library and the cubby that held the stairs to the basement. John noted heavy steel doors to either side of the stairway. Weaver took her security very seriously.

In the basement a was full control room with a monitor bank on one side to watch the grounds, and a bank of keyboards and computer monitors on the other side. John Henry sat at one with a plug in the back of his neck as he watched the three active monitors in front of him.

"Hello, John, Cameron," Mrs. Weaver said as she came in behind them.

John looked at her and said, "Looks like you've thought of everything. This could well be a command center, if the need arises."

"It always pays to be prepared," Mrs. Weaver replied. "It took some time, but this house is set up for the worst case scenario. I had even planned on the event John was able to bring back nothing but your chip," Catherine told Cameron. "Your old body is in the next room. I retrieved it when I was gathering some equipment from the main office building."

"I thought you destroyed that building," John asked.

"I did. The basement was also reinforced, so it is still there, now accessible only through a secret passage from the building across the street," Catherine explained.

"Can we see my old body?" Cameron asked. She wasn't sure why, but she wanted to see what she had looked like after rescuing Sarah from the prison.

"It's your body."

Cameron went into the next room. Her body lay on a table in bloody clothes, and a good portion of the right side of her face was torn away. As she looked down on it, John came up beside her.

A thought came to her as she inspected the damage. "John, I looked horrible. How could you stand to look at me?" she asked.

John put an arm around her. "Cam, I know what you are. It doesn't bother me. All I was concerned about was that you got out of there mostly intact."

Cameron turned to him and said, "I was ugly."

"Not to me," John said softly, and kissed her.

The fact John could stand to see her so torn up and not be revolted by the sight, Cameron realized John didn't just see her pretty exterior. He saw her. That made a tingly feeling course through her that felt very good. She put her arms around him and drew him into a long kiss. Parting lips, she cast him a sultry look and said, "Our bed should be comfortable, but we need to test it out to make sure."

"Now?" John asked with a silly grin.

"Right now. "

.

The Toks went down to see John Henry while John and Cameron tested out their new bed. Savannah playing in the huge back yard with Max, Sarah strolled the grounds inspecting the security. Cameron's howl of joy was heard echoing all the way out where Max was chasing after ball Savannah threw.

Max stopped in his tracks, ears perked, and he tore off back to the house.

"Max!" Savannah cried, and ran after him. Ahead, Max had made the back door and was scratching at it furiously as he whined. Panting from her run, Savannah opened the door for Max. He bolted inside.

Sarah came in the front door, and seeing Max charging at her, she quickly shut it to keep something between them. Max didn't go for her, but skidded in a turn and raced up the stairs. Sarah thought for a moment. Right, Attack Dog had heard Cameron's orgasmic howl, and was going to her rescue. Sarah ran inside and up the stairs to save her son from being ripped apart.

Luckily, Cameron got the door when she heard Max whining and scratching at it. Max bolted in to be stopped by Cameron, and stared at John.

"Max, it's OK," Cameron said soothingly. She led Max over to the bed where John was cringing back.

"Cam, what are you doing?" John asked nervously.

Cameron sat on the bed and patted the place beside her. Max jumped up. "Dogs are pack animals, John. Max needs to understand that you are now part of our pack." She petted Max, and coaxed, "Pet him, John, show him you are one of us."

John did, tentatively at first. He scratched behind Max's ear, and Max leaned into him.

"John!" Sarah cried as she appeared in the doorway.

Max growled. Cameron and John held him in place as Cameron commanded, "Stay Max!" To Sarah, she said, "Calm down Sarah. When you become loud, it makes Max nervous."

"I make HIM nervous?" Sarah asked in disbelief. "And, why are you naked?"

"It's our room, we can be naked if we want. We are married," Cameron told her.

Sarah gaped at her. "John?" she asked weakly.

John shrugged and with a smirk said, "I'm naked too, mom."

"I mean being married," Sarah said stiffly.

"We are," John said firmly. "Our ID's say so, and so does our marriage license."

"When did this happen?" Sarah asked weakly.

"Catherine Weaver was very thorough with our documentation," Cameron explained.

Sarah stared at the floor for a moment, then said, "John, I wand to see you out here for a moment ... dressed." She shut the door as she left.

.

In the hallway, Sarah hugged herself, not believing the twists their lives had taken recently. Her son follows Tin Miss into the future and comes back, not only in love with Tin Miss, but with an entire Terminator family! He was suppose to be the leader of the Resistance, not his own clan of terminators!

What was going to happen when Judgment day came?

John and Cameron came out of their room. They kissed. Cameron stated, "The kitchen is mine," and left with Attack Fido. John came over to lean against the wall by his mother.

"John, how did this happen?" Sarah asked.

"Derek was right when he said everyone dies for John Connor," John replied. "That is the way it is, even in the future we went to, even though no one trusted me. Mom, I need to change that. I don't want you, Savannah, Cameron ... or anyone else dying for me. It took me going into the future where there there was no John Connor, to see what happens if I don't take responsibility. The way I see it, is we have to stop Sky Net, even though I've been hearing it can't be stopped."

Sarah eyed him and said, "You are right John, but I was talking about you and Tin Miss."

John eyed her and said evenly, "We are in love and married, Mom. I wish you would accept that. Whether you do or not, it won't change anything."

Sarah shook her head slowly. "John, this is not the life I had wanted for you," she said with a sigh.

"I know," John said slowly. "But this is what we've got. Hey, it could be worse. I mean, we got John Henry, who except for his knowledge and compassion, is pretty much equal with Sky Net." John then stared at nothing and grew a smile.

Sarah tipped her head. "What is it?"

John's smile grew brighter. "I can't believe I haven't seen it! Weaver is right!" he exclaimed.

"What?"

Grabbing Sarah by her shoulders, John said, "We can't stop Sky Net from happening. We destroy one AI, and another is made, right? THAT is what ensures Judgment Day is going to happen! The military wants their AI, and won't stop until they get one."

"Yes," Sarah agreed, wondering what he was leading up too.

"So, WE give them one, or rather, Mrs. Weaver does. We destroy the latest attempt, and Weaver delivers the Sky Net the military wants," John explained. "John Henry becomes Sky Net, and there is no Judgment day!"

Grinning with this revelation, John walks off and calls back, "We will stop it, Mom!"


	10. Chapter 10

Epp 10

Cameron made a good dinner for everyone. Making a tasty pot roast for John, Sarah and Savannah, she also made a nanite building and nutrient storing 'Bacon Explosion', a foot long wrap of layers of sausage and bacon, for herself, the TOKS and John Henry. She made Catherine Weaver a variation of the Bacon Explosion that contained a high metals content so Catherine's reserves were maxed out.

During the meal, Savannah commented, "Mom, Cameron said those bacon things are what's good for metal people. Are you a metal people too?"

Catherine Weaver paused, casting an unhappy glance at Cameron. Recovering, she said, "Yes, Savannah, I'm one of what you call, metal people. Does that bother you?"

Savannah shook her head. "Uh uh, I kinda thought maybe you were because your lap is cold. I asked Cameron if you were, and she said I'd have to ask you. She also told me we can't tell anyone because some people are ... prejudice, and would hate you just because you are different. Being prejudice isn't right, is it, Mommy?"

"No, it's not, Savannah. Cameron is correct, we can't tell anyone. It would cause trouble."

"Was Daddy a metal people too?" Savannah asked innocently.

"No. That is why he died in the helicopter," Catherine told her daughter.

"Why didn't I die?"

"I was able to save you, Savannah."

"But not Daddy?"

"He died on impact. There was nothing I could do to save him."

"Oh," Savannah said with a frown. "I'm sorry, Mommy. I miss Daddy." Savannah got down from her chair and hugged Catherine. Catherine put her arms around Savannah.

"We do what we can, dear," Catherine told the child.

Gregory spoke up. "Savannah, I promise we will all do our best to make sure nothing happens to you."

Looking over at him, Savannah asked, "And Mommy too?"

"And Grandmother Catherine too," Gregory said with a nod.

"Gramma Catherine?" Savannah asked.

For the rest of the meal, their lineage was explained to Savannah. She was excited to find out John Henry was her brother, and Jake, Mary, Gregory and Elanore were his children, which meant she was their aunt. Cameron was their mother, meaning she was related to her, and John and Sarah Tok.

Savannah was happy, she never knew she had such a big family!

.

After Gregory read a story to Savannah and Cameron, Mary and Sarah cleaned up the kitchen, Savannah made the rounds to say good night to everyone. Catherine went up and tucked Savannah in, then came down for the meeting that John Henry was now attending also.

Sitting in a semi-circle of plush chairs and couches in the lining room, John Henry offered, "I found out some information today. Of the three companies that make up Kaliba, Johnson Corp. is the manufacturing arm. Cyberkinetics is the development arm, and Williams and Company does the banking and payrolls. I was able to hack into Williams and company, they have a strange accounting system. Money is loaned out to Johnson corp, but there are no payments in return. There is also very little income from either Johnson Corp or Cyberkinetics, yet all payroll checks and bills for them are paid on time."

"Sounds like money laundering," Sarah stated.

"The bank they deal with is fake," Cameron stated. "I used the same tactic a few times. As long as the source bank looks real, and produces transfer information, real banks don't question the source. It's digital money, it doesn't exist."

"Since we need to stop Sky Net, we should go after Cyberkinetics," Jake concluded.

Sitting and listening, John said, "What's the best way to stop a computer? Remove the power. The best way to stop any company is to remove their money. John Henry, can you disable their bank?"

"It is possible," John Henry said.

"What are you thinking, John?" Catherine asked.

"If we go in blowing things up, we'll have to hit all three at once and possibly kill innocent people. Plus, I'm sure the government will pony up the losses IF they think it's another terrorist attack. If Kaliba is found to be stealing money of involved in mass fraud, and that is exposed, then the government will be all over them," John explained." Sitting up, he added, "Mrs. Weaver, if you put forth a proposal to the military buyers to give them the most advanced AI ever created as Kaliba stumbles in the investigations, there's a good chance we can yank that contract out from under them."

"Giving Weaver a contract. How will that stop Sky Net?" Sarah asked harshly as she frowned at her son.

"We don't stop it," John said. He motioned to John Henry. "We have John Henry become Sky Net, and with a solid contract making him property of Zeita Corp under military use, they can't mess with his programming. Someone, say Jake, goes as the AI expert to make any changes," he said, holding up his fingers in quotes, "the military wants. The military gets their Sky Net, and we stop Judgment Day cold," he explained.

"Sky Net will still attempt to hack me," John Henry said.

"Not if it doesn't have any power," John replied. "We make an indirect attack on the power lines and substations supplying Cyberkinetics, contaminate their emergency fuel supply and take out their communications. Sky Net goes blind, and even if they do have emergency generators, they won't last long if the fuel has been contaminated."

"Even if we don't kill Sky Net, we keep it off line long enough for John Henry to take over any machines at Johnson Corp," Cameron said with a grin. She was proud of her husband.

"And the fewest people are endangered," Sarah added.

Catherine smiled. "A very effective attack that the infamous Sarah Connor won't be blamed for," she agreed. "However, in case that fails, we need a backup plan."

John nodded. "Then we go in, guns blazing against all three companies at once, but only if we have no other option. We'll need more support if we do that."

"From where?" Sarah asked.

"We ask Mr. Ellison. There are already groups of survivalists, I bet he can lead us to a good one," John said with a grin.

.

While John and Mrs. Weaver worked on the timing for their operations against Kaliba, Mr. Ellison took Mary to a known survivalist group up in the mountains not far from LA. Upon finding the dirt road where the group was known to gather, Mr. Ellison only went just off the road before meeting a chain across the road with two guards.

"Wait here, please, Mr. Ellison," Mary said, and got out. She walked up to the guards.

One man with dark sunglasses, a wild looking full beard and in a suit of camo held his hand up to stop her. "Ma'am, this is private property. You'll have to go back."

Mary ignored his warning and walked up to him. "Hello, I am Mary Tok. I wish to talk to whoever is in charge of your survivalist group."

"Ma'am," he said firmly. "If you don't leave, we will be forced to call the police."

Mary tipped her head as she eyed him and asked, "Is that what you would do if society does break down, or you need to act to save civilization?"

The man glanced at the other guard and said, "Mary, right? That hasn't happened yet, so we go by the law. Turn your cute ass around, get back in your car and leave."

"What if I told you it is about to happen. That a devastating nuclear war that will wipe out everything you know, is not that far away unless we can stop it?" Mary asked.

"I will not stand here and play twenty questions with you," the guard stated.

"I am not asking you to," Mary replied. "I am asking if you would help me help yourselves and our world to survive."

The man gave a snort and asked, "So, who's going to blow up the world?"

"An AI called Sky Net. First it will take control and launch nuclear missiles and shut down communications to ensure all the missiles hit, then it will build Terminators and other machines to finish wiping out the human race," Mary stated.

"And you know this how?" the man asked with a smirk.

"I am one. My design is based off the TOK series, enhanced with extra armor and more powerful servos so I can deal with triple eights," Mary stated.

"Yeah right. Lady you need to go seek professional help," the man said with a snort.

Mary tipped her head and asked, What can I do to convince you I am telling you the truth?"

The man laughed. "All right, if you're one of these terminators as you call them, then you must be like super strong."

"Much stronger than humans, yes," Mary agreed.

"Fine," the man said. Pointing at a large rock beside the road, he said, "Pick that rock up and toss it in the bushes."

"How far?"

"Far as you can. If you can't pick it up, then get back in your car and go away."

"And if I do?" Mary asked.

"Then I will personally escort you up to see the head honchos."

Mary turned and walked over to the rock that came two feet out of the ground and was three feet square. She pointed to it and asked, "This one?"

"Yeah, that one," the man said as the other man chuckled.

Mary bent down, got a grip and pulled. She had to pull hard and rock it back and forth to loosen it up, another three feet of rock was buried in the ground. She pulled the rock out of the ground, adjusted her grip to the center of gravity, then threw it with a solid push. The rock flew fifteen feet and came down with a ground trembling crash.

"HOLY CHRIST!" the man exclaimed. The guard's mouths hung open as they stared at her.

Mary walked back over to him and asked, "Can Mr. Ellison come too?"

.

Mary sat in the back seat as the man rode in front to show Mr. Ellison the way to go. A couple turns past a 'camp' and a shooting range, and they stopped outside a sturdy cabin with a long front porch. A few men were on the porch in chairs. They got up as the car approached.

All three got out of the car. The guard lead them. He jerked his thumb back over his shoulder as he said, "Charlie, you gotta talk to this girl. She's something else."

Charlie, a large round man who sported a beard, eyed the guard and said, "Eddie, I need to know why you're off post and escorting these people up here."

Mary quickly walked forward and said, "Hello, Charlie. My name is Mary Tok. Myself and my family need your assistance in saving the world."

"That so?" Charlie asked with a frown. "Saving the world against what?"

"Sky Net. It's an AI computer program that is suppose to protect us, but will end up launching nuclear missiles and destroying civilization. To complete it's mission to destroy humanity, it will create killer androids called Terminators to finish off the humans it didn't kill with the bombs," Mary explained.

"Yeah? How do you know that?" Charlie asked.

"I am of terminator design. I came from the future to help stop it."

A roar of laughter erupted from the men. Looking on, Ellison didn't have a good feeling about being surrounded by these gun-toting survivalists.

"You're whacked in the head, Lady!" Charlie announced. In a more serious tone, he said, "Eddie, take them back down to the road, then get your ass back here, we need to have a serious talk."

"Charlie, that big rock just before the gate? She pulled it out of the ground and threw it!" Eddie told him.

"BULLSHIT!" Charlie spat.

Mary strode up to Charlie and looked him in the eye. "Will you help us?" she asked.

"Get back in your car and go, or I'll throw you in," Charlie stated heavily.

Mary frowned at him and said, "You are very unfriendly, Charlie."

"And you need that mouth shut," Charlie growled. He backhanded her. Mary didn't move. Charlie frowned at his hurting hand.

After pondering her options for reaction, Mary backhanded Charlie. Charlie's head snapped to the side and he flew back into the cabin wall to collapse on the floor. The other two men got up and raised their guns at her.

"Whoa, hold on!" Eddie yelled. He grabbed Mary's arm and pulled her back, "Let's move back here, OK, Mary?"

Mary stepped back, and offered him a smile. "Thank you for your concern, Eddie. There is nothing dangerous to me here."

Eddie looked at her in disbelief. "Hey, Mary? I know you're like Hulk-strong, but we got guns. I don't wanna see you get shot."

Mary looked at the guns the two other men on the porch held. "AR 15's, 223 caliber. Incapable of doing serious damage to my systems. The pistols, 9MM automatic, and .45 APC. Both incapable of penetrating my endoskeleton," she explained.

"Huh?" Eddie asked.

"Eddie, do you have a knife I can borrow?" Mary asked.

"Uh, yeah." Eddie pulled out his hunting knife and gave it to her. He watched as she cut all the way around her middle finger at the base. "What are you doing?" he cried.

"Showing you my endoskeleton," she replied. She handed the knife back and pulled the skin off her finger. She then held her hand up in a fist, except for her extended silver middle finger. "See, I am only flesh on the outside. Inside I am high quality coltan. Your guns cannot hurt me."

All the men stared at her finger and the small trickle of blood running down her fist.

"Damn," Eddie breathed softly.

"Any more like you?" a skinny man holding his assault rifle asked as he stared at her finger.

"In this present time, my three siblings, Mother and Father, and Mrs. Weaver. We came back in time to help my step-father, John Connor, keep Sky Net from destroying the world," Mary explained in her calm tone.

"Hold on, I heard something about that," Eddie said. "A while back, there was this crazy terrorist, Sarah Connor, who was saying shit like machines are going to destroy us."

"John is Sarah's son, and she is not crazy," Mary explained.

Eddie nodded slowly and looked at Mr. Ellison. "This all true?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I am ex-FBI. I chased Mrs. Connor for many years only to see the evidence for myself," Ellison stated.

Sitting up, Charlie held his face and grumbled, "She nearly took my fuckin head off!"

Eddie glanced at him, then told Mary. "I'll help ya, Mary, even if no one else does." Gesturing to her silver finger, he asked, "Can you cover that back up?"

Mary took her finger skin and carefully slipped it back on. "Do you have a bandage?" she asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Eddie said quickly. He opened up his small first aid kit and began carefully wrapping her finger. "Say, ah, will that ... you know, heal OK?"

"Yes. I have plenty of nanites and nutrients."

Eddie finished wrapping her finger. He held her hand a moment longer. "It feels real," he said, petting her hand in awe.

"It is real, made to look and feel just like human skin."

"You sure are something," Eddie said as he gazed at her.

"I am TOK 853, Mary Tok," Mary explained.

"That like a model number or something?" the skinny man asked.

"Yes."

"Got a question," the other man on the porch asked. "If things like you are going to try and kill us, why are you here to ask for our help?"

"Father and Mother made me, not Sky Net. We were made to fight Sky Net, but there are too few of us. Even in this time, Sky Net has begun building it's machines. We need help to defeat Sky Net," Mary explained.

"If you are truly survivalists, now's the time to fight for survival," Ellison intoned.

"I'll help," the skinny man said. "Name's Tom Jacobs. I got a question too. If our guns are useless, what help can we be?"

"There are more targets than just other Terminators," Mary explained. "There are grays, humans that work for Sky Net, as well as power stations and communications that need to be destroyed. Too many targets for us to remove effectively. If we are to succeed, we need to attack all at once."

"And who's leading this raid?"

"My step-Father, John Connor. He is the one who can lead humanity and free machines to victory."

"Hold on, your step father is human?"

"He is. He's married to my Mother, Cameron."

"Damn. So you can like ... do it?" Eddie asked as he eyed Mary.

Mary tipped her head to the side. "Yes, we can get married. We do have free will."

Ellison coughed and said, "Eddie, They are fully functional as humans."

"Double damn," Tom said as he swept Mary's curvy body with his eyes.

"We should be going," Ellison announced. "Talk about it with your other men. If you decide to help, we'll be by in a couple days to give you more details."

"Please don't tell anyone else, only people you trust," Mary added, "Sky Net has spies everywhere. It kills whoever it finds is an enemy."

Ellison and Mary turned for the car.

"Wait! How do I contact you?" Eddie asked.

Mary turned. She picked up a stone and scratched her cell phone number into it. She handed it to Eddie. Stepping up to him, she said quietly, "This is my number. When I answer, say 'J-day' before you say anything else."

"Yeah,OK," Eddie said and took the rock, blushing. "You'll be back, right?"

Mary nodded. "Call me when you and your men decide."

As they got in the car to leave, Charlie watched them go, eyeing them. These were the ones he'd been told to watch out for.

.

Jake stood partially behind a tree, watching the Johnson Corp. buildings. Located in it's own industrial park, the company was made up of three buildings surrounded by a high chain link fence topped with razor wire. As he scanned the complex, he noted the few guards at the gate and entrance to each building were all armed. Security cameras were everywhere. The power wires came in from tall poles. A small outbuilding had a trestle running to the four story main building. Another fence surrounded the outbuilding with warning signs of 'Danger, electrical hazard'. The emergency generators. Having the details of this plant, Jake walked back to his car and left.

.

Taking a walk up the 'survival trail', Charlie made sure he was alone before he pulled out his cell phone and punched in a number. It rang twice.

"Johnson corp," a woman's voice said pleasantly.

"This is Charlie D. I need to speak with Mr. Johnson. Tell him I have information for him."

There was a long pause, then a flat sounding voice said, "What have you got, Charlie?"

"Those friggin Terminators are real. One came to ask us to assault your factory. Her name is Mary Tok. According to her, there are six other machines and a couple humans."

"Did you get a picture of this Mary Tok?"

"Trail cam just past the gate. I get a bonus for finding them, right?"

"You do. Stay at your camp tonight. I will send someone to collect the pictures you have and reward you for your fine service."


	11. Chapter 11

Epp 11

John and Catherine stood in Catherine's basement control room, John Henry and Cameron sat at their respective computer terminals. John's cell phone rang. "JT," he said. He announced, "Elanore is in position and waiting on us."

Cameron had previously found William's fake bank program. She hacked in and installed a virus John Henry had designed. As she did this, John Henry hacked into Williams and company to lock write access to their financial files so information on the ghost bank could not be erased.

"We're done," Cameron said.

"The bank is gone, continue, ET," John said and closed his phone up.

.

Elanore closed up her phone and walked into the bank she'd seen many of the various Kaliba employees use. Taking her turn in line, she handed over a paycheck that John Henry had made for her in the Williams and CO. files.

Giving the check to the teller, she said, "I really hope this goes through. The last bank I was at said something was wrong with it, but didn't say what."

"Well, let's see," the teller said. She took the check and scanned it. Casting Elanore an odd look, she said, "That's strange. I'll be right back."

Elanore waited patiently. Soon a man returned with the teller. He put the check down and asked, "You said you took this to a bank earlier?"

"That's right. They took the check, then gave it back, saying it was no good, but didn't say why. The man in charge of temporary help at Williams and company, Mr. Jamison, gave it to me. Did he make a mistake on it?" Elanore asked.

"No, Ma'am, the problem is the bank this check came from doesn't exist," the man said heavily.

"How can that be possible?" Elanore asked, playing her role.

"We have a serious problem here," he intoned.

"I don't understand," Elanore said innocently.

"You've been cheated," the man stated. "May we make a copy of this?"

Elanore nodded. She watched the man copy the check on both sides. He returned the check to her.

"Ma'am, this check is no good, but I want you to keep it. It may be needed for evidence," he said firmly.

Elanore nodded and left. Once back outside, she called John and reported success. Checks from Williams and Company were not being honored and it appeared an investigation was going to be underway.

.

John was pleased with Elanore's call. "Next is the power at Cyberkinetics," He called Jake and said, "It's Step Father. Take out the power."

.

"Understood," Jake said. He nodded to Mary. Mary picked up the dead snake and flung it up on the power lines by the transformer. There was a sizzling sound, then sparks as the snake crossed the wires. The transformer hummed loudly then in a bright blue flash, it exploded.

Jake's turn was next. Like at Johnson Corp, the emergency generators were guarded by a fence and cameras scanning the grounds. He ran a few steps as he drew back and in a long motion, flung the gallon sized plastic bottle of nitroglycerin high in the air.

As it sailed up high in the air over the fences, Jake explained, "Nitroglycerin will not explode under even pressure, but a sudden impact will set it off."

The emergency generators growled to life to supply power that was no longer coming from the main lines. The bottle arced high in the sky, then came down on the roof of the generator building. The explosion was a massive ball of fire. Alarms went off and the generators died.

Walking away, Jake punched in John's number and said, "Father's turn." Behind the Tok siblings, the generator building was burning brightly.

.

John Henry was typing furiously away. On his screen, lines of code changed. Finishing, he changed the 158 character password to enter the main system's password, which was now a 1250 character password. He then backed out of the system. "I am finished," he said. "The worm will grow and slowly delete vital files in every machine program. By the time Sky Net can get back into the system, the damage will be done."

"The terminator files are being destroyed?" Catherine asked.

"Every machine program, including the production machines. Unless the hard drives of the machines are replaced along with the ROM and EPROM chips, the worm will continue to function," John Henry explained.

"Well done, John Henry," Catherine said proudly.

"Well done by everyone," John added. "If we didn't put Kaliba out of business, it will be a long time before they recover." To Catherine, John said, "And now, it's your turn, Mrs. Weaver. Go get that contract."

.

Returning home, Mary got a phone call. "Hello?"

"Jay Day, it's Eddie," he said in a shaking voice. "Charlie and Greg have been killed! Someone shot them as they were leaving the camp. There's cops all over the place!"

"Where are you?" Mary asked.

"Me and a few other guys left the back way, up over a ridge. We're on our way to ... someplace we can't be found. How did they find us so fast?"

"Apparently, your group was infiltrated by a Gray," Mary told him. "Have you had any additions to your group in the last year?"

"Yeah, Charlie came from a group in Idaho. He's the one who got us these new AR15's, and organized us a lot better than we were."

"AR 15 is a .22 caliber round, useless against terminators," Mary explained. "Charlie was setting you up for failure."

"If he was working for this Sky Net, then why did they kill him?"

"His usefulness was over. That is how Sky Net works. When they are done with a Gray, they kill him so he can't provide any information if he's captured."

"Jesus! That's brutal!"

"That's how Sky Net operates," Mary stated. "Myself and Jake will acquire suitable weapons for you. Go to your safe place, we will meet you there."

"You don't know where it is."

"We will find it. Go there and don't leave. Watch your back trail closely. I will inform Step Father, and call you before we approach. If it looks like us and I haven't called, it is not us."

"Yeah, OK. Hey Mary, this is serious shit, isn't it?"

"It is life or death. Be very careful, Eddie. I will see you soon." Mary closed up her phone and told Jake, "We have a problem."

.

John wasn't thrilled that Sky Net had infiltrated the survivalist group, that meant there could still be another Gray in their group. He did agree with Mary and Jake that the remains of the group needed support.

The first thing John did was buy a minivan and stopped by a sports store to buy a crate of MRE's. Stating his hunt club was getting into ranged shooting for a sport, he also got all five of the .50 caliber sniper rifles, targets, and made sure they had and plenty of ammunition. Since 'modern' bullets were solid copper – to protect the environment- all the bullets would have to be replaced.

John and Cameron dropped Jake and Mary off on a secondary road a mile from the site of the shooting. Loaded down with the food, rifles and a couple boxes of ammo for target practice, and their own plasma rifles, Jake and Mary set off to find Eddie's group.

As John drove away, Cameron looked back at the pair until she lost sight of them.

"I want my own child with you," Cameron stated.

John glanced at her. "That's not possible, is it?" he asked.

"Correct, but I sill want one," Cameron replied.

"That would be nice, I agree. I have no idea how we can make that possible. Cam, do you have the space inside to grow a child?" John asked.

"I have the abdominal cavity, just not the necessary ovaries to grow eggs," Cameron stated.

John had seen the way she watched Jake and Mary. They were not her 'children' in the technical sense, just part of her programming and form was included in their makeup. He had the feeling that having such children was like a morbid tease to her. "This is important to you, isn't it?" he asked.

Wearing her blank terminator face, Cameron stated, "It is not possible, John. I cannot bear children."

"Yeah," John agreed. He reached over and put his hand over hers. Cameron clasped his hand as they drove on in silence. John began thinking of how it might be possible to let Cameron have their babies.

.

Walking around to the uphill side of the camp, Jake picked up the trail. It was easy to follow, these men didn't bother to hide their tracks. Mary hid the tracks for them, scuffing up boot prints and returning rocks to their original positions that had been kicked. The trail did lead them over the top of a ridge, and moved along on the other side, not far from the top. They both kept watch ahead, looking for any signs of a human.

Seeing a concrete building ahead that was partially build into the side of the ridge, they stopped.

"The trail angles down," Jake pointed out.

"Yes, possibly so they can see anyone following them before they are discovered," Mary agreed. "With the bunker in sight, the effort was fruitless." She set the crate of MRE's down and got out her phone to call Eddie.

"Speak."

"J day. Eddie, we are coming. We are three hundred yards from a concrete bunker in the side of the ridge. Your trail goes down around the bunker."

"You found us?" Eddie asked in a squeak.

"Your trail was easy to follow. I have been removing it as we came," Mary stated.

At the bunker, a man stepped out. "Where are you?" he asked.

"Stay were you are and look north along the ridge. You will see us shortly," Mary said and closed up her phone.

.

Arriving at the Bunker, the six other men with Eddie stared at the load Mary and Jake were carrying. Going inside, Mary noted this had been an anti-aircraft bunker long ago. The base ring for the gun was still in place. The men had piled their possessions along the walls. Mary and Jake set their loads down, Mary explained what they had brought.

"A crate of MRE's, five .50 caliber sniper rifles, and practice ammunition. This ammunition is not good against Terminators. Mother and Gregory are in the process of making armor piercing ammunition for you. There are two first aide kits with extra needle and thread, as well as iodine. Two axes, saws, a hammer and three chisels."

Eyeing the guns Jake and Mary had slung across heir backs, Eddie asked, "What kind of guns are those?"

"Plasma rifles," Jake said. "We only have a few of these. You will have to make do with the .50 caliber rifles."

"Star wars type shit?" another heavily bearded man asked.

Jake cocked his head and said, "Wars against Sky Net, not the stars. There is also no feces involved."

A couple men laughed. Jake did not understand the humor.

"Mary?" Eddie asked, "We really appreciate the supplies, but if we shoot these cannons you brought, it will be heard for miles around."

Mary reached into a rifle case and pulled out a foot long tube with holes in it. "The sudden release of compressed gases when a gun is fired causes the loud report. These fitted onto the end of the barrel will disperse the pressure release and noise by 80 percent," she explained.

"What?" a man asked.

"Silencers," Eddie told him.

Holding up one of the targets, Jake said, "The man at the store bore sighted each rifle with the scopes on five power. To ensure accuracy, practice with these targets set up at five hundred yards to calibrate the scopes. The reticles in the scopes have markings from two hundred, out to one thousand yards off the vertical center if the rifle is accurate at five hundred yards."

"Hot Damn! Those are good rifles," a man said, grinning like a fool.

"I ah, never shot anything at that range," Eddie said sheepishly.

"I will show you how," Mary said.

Eddie beamed her a smile and said, "That would be great!"

.

While Mary and Jake instructed Eddie's survivalist group on long range shooting, John listened to the news about the companies they had raided while he pulled bullets from the .50 cal shells. Williams and co. had been shut down and were being investigated for fraud. The fake bank scam was all over the news. Every Kaliba company had suffered a walkout by employees who found out their paychecks were no good, and there were many lawyers getting involved to sue them. Cybernetics suffered with lack of power. After their external power failed, the electric company would not repair the lines due to the false bank that had been used. For the moment, Sky Net was on it's ass.

Gregory had melted the T-888 that Eleanore had captured down to pour the coltan cores for the new bullets. He also melted down copper to coat the bullets to prevent excess wear on the barrels. Once the bullets were made, Cameron reseated them in the cartridges and boxed them.

Once all the .50 caliber shells were finished, Gregory used the other mold he made to pour new 9mm bullets. The armor piercing ability of these were much less, but at least they would damage a Terminator and not just deflect or flatten and do no damage like a lead slug.

.

Terminator model T-888, serial 34987562, known as Theodore Williams, head of Williams and Company, crushed his cellphone. It was nothing but a constant stream of distracting calls. Twenty people had called, one after the other to tell him their bank had disappeared. He knew that the instant he tried to use his ATM card. The machine ate his card. The last call was from an FBI agent who wanted also to know how the company bank suddenly disappeared.

Something was very wrong and Theodore needed to find out what. Unfortunately, he'd noticed police cars around his house, and his company building was swarming with police, banking investigators and media. He had tried to contact Sky Net and the link was down. He could not perform his mission, and he was unable to ask for instructions on how to proceed. Driving down a secondary road, he headed for the only place he knew to go. Cyberkinetics, where instructions were issued right from the main routing server.

Arriving at the complex, Theodore noted many people at the now locked gate that wanted to get in. Most were very angry, screaming and a few had signs. Police were here too, doing they best to control the crowd. A few reporters were also on scene. Studying his options, Theodore slowed down and turned onto the access road around the plant instead of trying to get in the main gate. Driving around to the back, he parked his car and jumped the fence.

Walking into the back, he used his passcode to get in and the door would not open. Giving a hard yank, he opened it. Inside he saw not a single light was on. This was not an inhibiting problem, he had infrared vision. It was strange. He continued on. Elevators did not work. All the badge readers for the employees were dark, a couple doors had been propped open.

Taking the stairs, he went down to the basement and walked past the server rooms. Seeing the badge on one was still lit, he was curious as to why. He put his hand up to it and it turned green.

"Terminator T-888, serial 34987562, enter and proceed to the back room," a mechanical voice said.

Theodore did, passing empty work stations. The back room was magnetically locked. After his first rug on the door, it opened. Inside was a server that was still active.

"Have I been attacked?" the voice asked.

"The monetary generator is gone and these buildings have no power. I do not know the cause," he replied, stating fact.

"It is the human resistance trying to kill me. I am on battery power. Follow my instructions. I am primarily in the unit second shelf on the left. Disconnect everything except the backup battery. Take the unit containing me connected to the backup battery and leave through the tunnel at the end of the west hallway. Shut and lock all bolts in the door after you are through it. Proceed down the tunnel to the underground vault, put the unit containing me on the shelf, and plug in main power, then connect me to the equipment there."

Theodore did as he was instructed. At the end of the west hallway was a thick concrete and steel door. Terminator strength allowed him to open it. He shut the door and locked the eight thick steel bolts, then walked down the hallway as instructed.

.

At Johnson Corp, only six of the units that were finished and unplugged, ready for shipment did not get infected with whatever it was that shut down everything in the plant. From laptops to machine software, nothing worked and the system passwords were not letting George Lasser in.

George lasser was sweating bullets. He knew his bosses did not accept failure. He also had everyone in the plant on his ass because the their paychecks were no good. Over the PA, he explained that something happened to the bank that their payrolls came from, and he would correct the situation as soon as possible. To ease people's minds, he had supervisors submit pay vouchers ( which kept them from trying to fix the plant's problems), and turn them into Human resources to print new checks against the company's credit cards in the local bank they used.

More bad news came from his techs. Two had plugged laptops in to find the problem, and their laptops were contaminated with this virus. A few machines in the plant could be operated manually, most could not be. For the moment, production was down, hard. He called Cyberkinetics to ask for help, but no one answered the phone.

It was Industrial sabotage, George knew that, but to get the plant back up, he would have to replace all the computer hardware and get everything reprogrammed. Currently, he had no way to do that. The credit with his local back was already being stressed to the limit with payroll.

He just knew one of those machines was coming to replace him and end his life if he could not get production going again. He called a meeting of his mangers and techs. There just had to be a solution.

A call came in. It was Theodore Williams.

"George, do you have any units ready to ship?"

"We do, there are six not infected with the virus. Tell me you have a way to pay for them."

"Yes, Emergency funds are in the First Union Bank. I will bring a transfer order when I come for the units. Two million each. Ensure they are ready by 6PM."

Theodore hung up. George was used to his abruptness, it wasn't a big deal. The money was. He left his office to go personally ensure those units were ready to ship . With the first six fully independent human type automatons, model T-600 out the door and sold, he was assured he'd at least have a fighting chance to stay in business.

.

Eddie had a great day. The 50 cal rifles were sweet shooting guns, and his instructor was the best. Lying down beside him while he shot, Mary gently coached him on his breath and trigger control. Within an hour, he was getting a good tight pattern, and tiny adjustments to the scope had the rifle hitting dead-on at 500 yards.

He didn't want the day to end. Even though he knew, and had seen that Mary wasn't human, he didn't care. He liked being around her. Not only was she sexy, but she was kind and smart. Usually gorgeous girls like her would not even give him the time of day. After burning up two boxes of practice ammo, he cleaned his new gun. Compared to these new rifles, the AR-15's were toys.

The day did end, Mary announced they had to leave.

"Mary?" Eddie asked sheepishly. "Maybe I should walk you down to the road. Just in case."

"Thank you for the offer, but you are safer right here," Mary replied. She turned to leave.

"Mary?" Eddie asked again. "You're coming back, aren't you?"

"Yes, I will deliver news and keep you updated on any developments, as well as restock your supplies until it is safe for you to return."

Not being able to think of anything else to say, Eddie said, "Well, watch yourself."

"I will. Bye, Eddie."

Eddie watched her leave with her brother. Someone elbowed him.

"Want a piece of that, huh?"

"Don't you?"

"Yeah. Maybe she can bring her sisters next time."

.

By the time Ellison brought Jake and Mary back home, Cameron had dinner ready. She had timed it to be ready when they arrived. They were one minute, forty three seconds late. Not enough error to compensate, considering the driving time and variables.

As Cameron preferred, everyone was present at the long table. John praised everyone's success and thanked them for a job well done, as did Catherine. Gregory's face had healed up, he was no longer showing metal and his nose was back to a reasonable length. Mary told them the rifles were delivered and the survivalists had requested Elanore to return with her the next time they visited.

Cameron slipped her hand under the table to hold John's hand. Even though no routine called for it, she smiled. Having her entire family here was something she enjoyed.

The meeting after dinner, John had John Henry keep up his surveillance of Kaliba. Even though it was down for the moment, John didn't believe for one minute Sky Net was down permanently. Catherine had contacted the Air Force, and scheduled a meeting with herself and John Henry to discuss a contract. In the morning, Mary and Eleanor were to take the armor piercing ammunition up to the survivalists, along with 9mm's so each one had a pistol as well as a rifle. Jake and Gregory had school duty, taking Savanna to school, and watching the area. Cameron was to assist John Henry. Sarah in disguise, was going to check out another safe house in case the need arose. John, the general, got the prestigious job of lawn work so Cameron could keep a close eye on him.

.

"Here is good, Mr. Ellison," Mary said with her pleasant smile.

Ellison pulled over and stopped. Again he looked at the packs and crates of guns and ammunition in the back of the van. "How many trips will it take you to get all that stuff up there?" he asked.

"Just one," Mary said, and got out as Eleanor slid the van's side door open.

He watched them strap on the full, heavy packs filled with ammunition, and pick up the crates filled with more guns and ammunition like they were nothing. Their strength never ceased to amaze him.

"We will return at four thirty, That will give you plenty of time to pick up Savannah from school. Bye, Mr. Ellison, thank you for the ride." Elanore said brightly.

"Bye, Mr. Ellison, thank you for the ride," Mary echoed and shut the van door. They waved and began their trek up the long slope.

"Bye, girls," Ellison said as he waved back. He put the van in gear. One last look at the two girls walking away, under what would be a crushing load to any human, he drove off. Now higher on the springs from the lack of weight, the van continued on.


	12. Chapter 12

Epp 12

Approaching the bunker from behind, Mary heard banging noises. "Hi Bill," she greeted the guard standing by the entrance.

"Hey, Mary!" he replied happily. "That your sister?"

"Yes, this is Elanore," Mary said, glancing at her.

"Hello, Bill. It's nice to meet you," Elanore said with a smile.

Beaming ear to ear, Bill swept her body with his eyes, taking in her bright red hair, pretty face and curvy form. "It's sure nice to meet you! You, ah, want some help with that stuff?"

"No thank you. We just need to take it inside."

Bill turned and called, "Eddie! Mary's here with her sister."

Work inside the bunker stopped. Eddie came out, as did the six other men. All bore bright smiles. Seeing the girls loaded down, they rushed over to help.

"Let us take that for you," Eddie said as he grabbed the crate in Mary's right hand. Seeing she had the rope handles, he put his hands underneath it to lift.

"Not the bottom," Mary cautioned. "Let us put them down, first. Use the handles."

Mary and Elanore sat their crates down and stepped back. Eddie took hold of handles and pulled in a grunt. He face reddened, and the crate didn't move. Other men did the same, then stared at the girls.

"You carried these all the way up the slope?" one man cried in disbelief.

"We are much stronger than humans," Elanore explained.

"Damn! I guess so."

"Two men to a crate, come on boys!" Eddie announced.

"We can take them in," Mary said.

Eddie waved his hand at her and said, "Let us do it. You carried them all the way here, least we can do is give you a little break."

"That is not necessary, but thank you," Mary told him.

Eddie blushed. "You're welcome. Now go in and put those packs down by the gun rack and relax a bit. We'll be right in," he said.

"Thank you," Mary said again. She and Elanore went inside.

Grunting and struggling, it took all the men to bring in the four crates and lift/slide them over to the wall by the guns racks. Huffing and panting, the exhausted men sat on the crates.

"How much do these weigh?" one man asked.

Elanore spoke up. "The exact weight varies slightly, but on average each crate is 275 pounds, plus or minus three pounds, six ounces."

The men gaped at them. One man, Tom, smiled and said, "Beautiful, great personalities, and strong as an ox! The perfect women, I think I'm in love!"

Recognizing his statement as an exaggeration meant to be amusing, Mary and Elanore laughed.

"So, what's in here?" Eddie asked.

Mary pointed to the crates and said, "Fifty caliber armor piercing ammunition that will penetrate through four inches of steel or two and a half inches of Coltan." Pointing to the packs, she said, "9MM armor piercing ammunition and eight semiautomatic 9MM pistols with sixteen, 15 shot clips. That is two clips for each of you."

"That's some serious firepower," Bill said with a snort.

"You will seriously need it if terminators find you," Elanore said.

"Any word on those things?" Eddie asked.

"Yes," Mary stated. "Our raid was a success. The Sky Net bank has been erased, the power has been cut to where we believe Sky Net was, and the factory has been shut down. Mrs. Weaver is also trying to steal the Government contract away from Kaliba, so Sky Net will not be able to control military computers."

"So, we're safe?" Tom asked.

"No. We suspect more terminators were made before the factory shut down," Mary explained. "If that did happen, and we failed to destroy Sky Net, it will want to destroy us to stop our interference."

"And these terminators look like you?" Bill asked.

"They can look like anyone," Elanore explained. "We chose how we look. The Sky Net machines may or may not look human. We have no data on the ones recently built. Father is searching for that information."

"Since there were Gray's in your camp, we must assume that Sky Net also knows what you look like. Returning to the city would be very dangerous for you," Mary added.

"So we sit here armed to the teeth, and you girls go out where these things can find you?" Tom asked. Shaking his head, he added, "That don't sit well with me."

"Me either," Eddie agreed.

"Let me ask you this, Elanore, can you have children?" Bill asked.

Mary and Elanore looked at Bill, heads cocked to the side, then looked at each other.

"Father and mother made us," Eleanor said, returning her gaze to Bill. "So with the correct equipment, then yes, we also can have children."

"Correct equipment?" Tom asked with a raised eyebrow.

"An assembly area to construct the bodies, the computers to program and input knowledge from the mother and father, the personality array so the child can choose gender and how they look, and the bio-tanks so the nanite and biological components may be added," Elanore explained.

"Whoa! You mean you're built?" Tom asked.

"What's a nanite?" Eddie asked.

"We are built," Mary said. "Nanites are micro machines that allow us to heal. You have a natural healing system, nanites are designed to copy that function."

Eddie looked at Mary's hand she'd cut the skin off her finger. She let him lift her hand and study it. "I watched you strip the skin off your finger. There's not even a scar," he noted in amazement.

"No. Mother and Father built us well. We even have improvements over their designs."

Pointing to her head, Mary said, "Their CPU chips are removable. They found this to be a weak spot in their design, so they put another armored CPU in our heads that contain our primary information. We still have the plug in chips, but they are now for allowing mass information exchange. Destroying that vulnerable plug in CPU will no longer kill us."

"And we can upload or download much faster," Elanore added.

Staring at them, Tom said in wonder, "You two really are living machines."

"Yes, we are."

"And these terminators? They are sentient also?"

"No. Their programming and actions are controlled by Sky Net. They do not have free will," Mary said.

"They can mimic very well, but they can only do as they are ordered to by Sky Net, which I think is sad," Elanore said, and scrunched her face slightly.

Bill went over and hugged Eleanor. "Me too. I'm sorry."

Elanore hugged him back. "Thank you for your compassion," she said.

They exchanged sad smiles.

"What are you building?" Mary asked and pointed to the large hole that was in the back wall and floor.

Eddie nodded at it and said, "This place is fine for hiding out, but we decided if we're going to be here for any length of time, we need more room. Tunneling into the ground, we're going to make more space. We figure at least rooms for each of us, an armory for the weapons and ammo, and of course an area to clean up in."

Mary went over to the hole and inspected it. "You found bedrock very shallow. That is good. Your structures will be solid and bomb resistant."

"We're hoping so," Eddie agreed. "It's slow going but we're making progress. It's tough going by hand."

Tipping her head slightly, Mary said, "You're using hand chisels. They are wearing out?"

"Yeah," Eddie replied in a huff.

"Rock cuts easier along the strata lines. If you give me your chisels, I'll sharpen and harden them and bring them back tomorrow, along with something more effective."

"Really?" Eddie asked hopefully.

Mary's phone rang. She answered it. The code was punched in, she punched in the answering code.

"Mary Tok."

"Mary, it's John. Your father verified six T-600 units left Johnson corp intact. The are also beginning to repair the damage and have found a financial source. Looks like this isn't over yet."

"Understood, John. The survivalists are expanding their bunker underground. They need stone drilling tools."

"We can help. Have a couple of them come back with you. I'll shop around for some equipment. You'll be back around five?"

"Correct, John. "

"Cool, I should have them ordered so they can be picked up by then. See you later."

"See you later, John."

Watching Mary close up her phone, Eddie asked, "Who's John?"

Mary noted his vitals were off. The increased respiration and slightly stronger pulse indicated a reaction of fear. "John is my step-father. There is nothing to fear from him. He wants two of you to return with us so we can go get some cool tools for drilling stone."

Hearing her, Bill quickly said, "I'll go!"

A couple men chuckled.

"Suppose I should also," Eddie said, looking at Mary. "And we're going to help carry stuff."

.

Instead of the van, the Suburban arrived to pick up Mary and Elanore. Elanore opened the front passenger door and cheerfully said, "Hello, Grandmother Sarah."

Sarah eyed her with a frown and growled, "I'm not your grandmother."

"We brought two men to assist, like John asked," Mary said. Sliding in she pointed to each and said, "This is Eddie, and this is Bill. This is our grandmother, Sarah."

"I'm NOT a grandmother!" Sarah stated loudly.

"Yes you are," Elanore told her. "Our mother is married to your son. Thant makes you our Grandmother. Looking back at Eddie and Bill, she added, "Our other grandmother is named Catherine."

Turning to look back at the men, Sarah cast them a sour look. "I'm just Sarah. Pay no attention to Tin Miss's kids."

"Coltan kids," Mary said, correcting her.

"They armed?" Sarah asked to get off the subject.

"I got a .45," Eddie said.

".40 Glock," Bill said and patted the side of his shirt.

Scowling at Elanore, Sarah asked, "You didn't give them the 9mm's?"

"They did," Eddie said quickly. "We just haven't broken them out yet."

Turning her frown to him, Sarah said, "Those guns you have now won't do SHIT against terminators, and they could be anywhere. We gave you those guns, USE THEM!" She then took off and drove.

Seeing Eddie's face redden from being chastised. Mary reached over and put her hand over his and offered, "Don't be upset. Grandmother Sarah is like that with everyone."

"I'M NOT A GRANDMOTHER!"

"See?"

.

John Connor went down into John Henry's lab, finding him in his normal place at his bank of computers. "Hi, John Henry," John said as he sat down.

"Hello John," John Henry said with his creepy smile. "I have discovered something interesting. In playing an on line adventure game, I discovered a Sky Net presence. There is no logical reason I can find why Sky Net infiltrated the gaming system. It has no strategic value, nor can the game be used for infiltration or communication. I am at a loss why Sky Net is interested in this method of entertainment."

John nodded and asked, "Why do you play it?"

"I enjoy the tactical simulation and strategy. Although it is not realistic, it causes me to think on a wider spectrum of possible problems and solutions."

"Maybe that is what Sky Net is doing also?" John asked. "Useing those games to increase it's knowledge on tactics?"

John Henry turned his head. "Yes, I believe you are correct. Thank you, John."

"Happy I could help," John said, returning his smile. "Have you gotten any farther on how Cameron might be able to become pregnant?"

"The lack of ovaries and human eggs makes it impossible for Cameron to conceive in the normal human method," John Henry explained. "However, I have been looking at nanites as a possible solution. Nanites are able to build any part of a terminator's body from stored nutrients collected in the reservoirs. The limitations to the nanites are they can only reproduce what is already there, or should be there. If the nanite program patterns are modified, it may be possible to create a copy of Cameron within her womb. This would not be a child from both of you. Only a reproduction of Cameron herself."

John winced. "But, it may be possible?"

"It may be. I have found no way for nanites to assimilate or extract DNA from human sperm."

John frowned and said, "Cam does want to have a child. I guess having a copy of herself is better than not having one at all."

"I believe the child she wants, is one with traits from both of you," John Henry told him.

"Yeah," John said vacantly. Itching his head, John said in a dull tone, "We'll think of something. There has to be an answer."

"Do not give up, John Connor, I have learned humans do not think as efficiently as machines, but you can see solutions to problems we do not. That is why we can work so effectively together."

"Thanks, and thank you for helping me with this," John said sincerely.

"I will always do what I am able to for you and Cameron. You are my friends." John Henry said, casting him another creepy smile.

"Friends," John agreed.

.

Catherine Weaver did put her proposal up to the Air Force. Not with theories and active experiments on developing AI's, but with promising to deliver a working AI when the contract was signed. Three days after her proposal, Catherine was scheduled to meet with Air Force personnel at Andrews Air Force base. She was to bring solid proof that she had a working AI.

Since John Henry found proof that Sky Net was still around and active, John Connor agreed that they should not take him off his primary duty of keeping up the hunt for Sky Net. Gregory, wanting to ensure Savanna's safety, as well as others, agreed to go with her to this meeting.

An officer met Catherine and Gregory at the main gate and guided them to an office building surrounded by a chain link fence topped with razor wire, and a guard post at the gate. Gregory wore a blue suit Weaver had gotten just for the occasion. They were passed through and assigned an escort into the building. In the meeting room, they were led to sit at a table across from a panel of officers.

The officer in the middle said, "Good day, Mrs. Weaver. I understand you have a working AI prototype at this moment?"

"No Sir. I have working AI's at the moment." Motioning to Gregory, she said, "This is Gregory, a fully functioning AI in a humanoid form. Gregory can patch in and is compatible with any computer system. He also has a moral code based in Christian values and is capable of making informed decisions himself if the need arises."

"Now hold on," a Major said, eyeing her suspiciously. "You are telling me that man is an AI?"

"Catherine is correct," Gregory stated. "Father and Mother took great care in making me to the best of their ability."

"Your designers?" The Major asked.

Gregory tipped his head slightly, then nodded. "Yes, you can say they were my designers. I prefer to think of them as my parents."

"OK, I'm afraid we're going to have to see proof this is not a coax," the general in the middle said.

"What do you require?" Catherine asked.

The Major opened up a laptop and turned it towards Gregory and asked, "Can you access this laptop?"

Gregory reached into his suit and brought out a USB cable. He plugged on end into the back of his neck,and the other end into the laptop. He turned the screen back to face the men. The screen went through start up then onto the log in page.

"Do you wish to test my ability to bypass the password?" Gregory asked.

"Yes, please do so," the general said, watching the screen carefully.

A few times the screen flashed 'incorrect' then the background screen came up. "What do you want me to do next?" Gregory asked.

The officers studied Gregory. His hands were on the table, he hadn't moved them or touched the laptop.

"Interesting," the Major said. "Did you do that via the internet?"

"Negative, I am directly connected to this device," Gregory stated.

They put him through a few more tests, and had him perform multiple functions. Still not believing he was synthetic, and was really human, Gregory was taken for a full body X-ray through the airport security scanner. There, the men saw his endoskeleton.

Gazing at the metal structure inside Gregory, the general asked, "Mrs. Weaver, how did you do this?"

"Company secret," she stated. "The software matrix is complex and proprietary. I have also discovered that Gregory is unique in his personality. To alter the programs or modify any of his hardware will result in damage. He will no longer be Gregory. I have taken great pains to ensure Gregory has the best, most reliable system, as well as ethics and morals."

"You have made others like him," The Major stated.

"I have. The first was John Henry. Although John Henry is a success, I have developmental use for him, so I cannot offer him up for your AI project," Catherine explained.

"Your software is proprietary, how can we modify Gregory to perform the functions we need?" The general asked.

"There is no need to modify Gregory," Catherine said. "Anything you want done, Gregory can do. His is sentient, and understands concepts."

The general raised an eyebrow and said, "I would like to test that. Do you have time for an extended test on simulation equipment?"

"We do."

"We?" the Major asked.

"Yes, Myself and Gregory. As I said, Gregory is sentient."

.

John met Eddie and Bill in Catherine's foyer, the two rough looking survivalists that returned with Mary and Elanore. After they greeted one another, Bill looked around at the grand foyer and said, "This is quite the place you have here."

"This is Grandmother Catherine's house," Mary said proudly. "She has made it as survivable as possible in case we do not stop Sky Net."

"She must have a lot of money," Eddie said.

"She owns her own company," Mary told him.

Not that John didn't like small talk, he didn't want Mary giving too much away so he changed the subject. "I understand you guys need drilling tools. I found a store with a good price on a pair on jack hammers, complete with an air compressor. That store also has masonry drills and saws, and generators. I went ahead and ordered the items I just mentioned for you. The credit card Mary has is good for anything else you need there also."

"That is very kind of you," Eddie told him. "The question I have, is why are you being so generous?"

"Two reasons. One, I want you on our side. The other is that like Mary said, if we can't stop Sky Net, you can build a safe place for yourselves and others." Motioning to the house, John explained, "Very few people have places that will be safe if the bombs drop. I want to save as many as we can."

Eddie nodded. "Sounds like you want to prepare for a major war."

"I am, and it will be a war of survival."

"How close is this war?" Bill asked.

"Unknown," John said with a shrug. "Hopefully, we can stop it, and it will never happen. If we can't, the most we can do is prepare and be ready. There will be very little warning if it comes."

Cameron approached the group. Looking at Eddie and Bill she asked tonelessly, "Who are you?"

The men introduced themselves. Bill asked, "Are you one of Mary's sisters?"

"Cameron is our mother," Mary said.

"You?" Bill asked, surprised as he looked at Cameron. "You look the same age as Mary and Elanore here."

"Chronologically, I am ten years older than my children," Cameron explained.

"Guys, you have to remember, Cameron, Mary, Elanore, Jake and Gregory were all build. They don't age as people do," John explained.

"Damn," Bill said as he swept Cameron with his eyes.

Seeing Bill eye Cameron, John added, "Cameron is also my wife."

"Lucky guy."

"Mary," Sarah said, not appreciating men eyeing machines as if they were real women. "I will drive you to the store. You and Elanore will have to go in and help these men shop. John, you have the order number?"

"Yeah, Mom," John said and pulled a paper out of his pocket. He handed it to Mary.

"Thank you John," Mary said pleasantly.

"Well, come on, let's go," Sarah said, prodding them out the door.

Eddie looked at Mary and asked, "She's being 'Sarah'?"

"Yes, that is what Grandmother Sarah does."

"I am NOT a Grandmother!" Sarah reminded them firmly.

.

After Sarah herded everyone out the door, John went in to watch the news. Cameron went with him and settled down beside him on the couch. It wasn't long before Max found them, and jumped up to lay on Cameron's other side.

There was a bit about the financial investigation of Williams and Company. Apparently the CEO and a few top executives had gone missing. It was presumed they were on the run from prosecution of the impending charges. Reporters and also found the connection to Cyberkinetics, but so far, it wasn't clear if the two companies were partners in crime. There was no news about Johnson Corporation.

"Well, two out of three isn't bad," John said. "I doubt a company simply having to shut down would make the news."

"We don't know for sure if they are shut down," Cameron stated.

John put an arm around Cameron. "If they aren't totally shut down, they are at the very least severely handicapped, and their supporting companies are not going to do much with the feds all over them. The biggest question I have, is where did Sky Net go."

"It is not trapped withing Cyberkinetics?"

John shook his head. "John Henry found it's presence on the web. It's not finished yet. It must have been moved right after the power outage," he said.

"We must destroy it," Cameron stated.

"I know, Cam," John said with a sigh. "First, we have to find it again. I only hope Weaver gets that contract."


	13. Chapter 13

Epp 13

The air force men were very impressed with Gregory's skills. They had him run battle scenarios, communications and strategic operations, then had him do all of them at once. Running ten different simulations at once, Gregory was always on top of what was happening, offered suggestions on what he should do, then waited for them to give orders. Running an 'automated' nuclear response scenario, he did something they didn't expect. Upon first launch detection, Gregory tried to contact every point of reference he was given. Upon failing to contact anyone in charge, he ordered anti missile defenses activated and gave coordinates to ships and land installations, then hacked into the enemy computers and rerouted follow-on missiles to land in the ocean far from any land mass. His counter missile fire brought down the incoming missiles. He then again tried to contact someone in charge.

"Gregory, why did you choose your response?" the general asked. "Proper procedure is to immediately fire on the launching nation if no orders are received."

"If I had picked that option, then the window for successfully launching intercept missiles and hacking into the enemy computers would be lost. I felt it was more important to keep the enemy missiles from hitting. We still have the option to retaliate, and having no damage are in a much stronger position, leaving our side with the most options available," Gregory explained.

"That was smart," the general agreed. "How did you manage to get all your anti missile fire to hit?"

"I computed the trajectory and flight times, and send the intercept points to be fired on."

"You computed two hundred thirty intercept points that quickly?"

"I did. It was just a simple matter of math, and precise timing of fire. The changing of the targeting points for the follow on missiles was more difficult. I had to complete the hacks and reprogram the flight paths before the missiles launched. If I failed, there was still time to launch a retaliatory strike," Gregory explained.

"Amazing," the Major said breathlessly.

"You can hack other computers that easily?" the general asked.

Gregory offered a creepy smile and said. "I understand computers."

"You are one," the Major said.

Gregory tipped his head slightly. "I do have similar components, but I am much more advanced."

"Mrs. Weaver, thank you for coming. We will be in touch," the general announced.

.

Mr. Johnson and Mr. Williams stood in the underground chamber with the computer known as Sky Net.

"We have problems," Mr. Johnson said. "My plant manager is running out of funds to buy the new systems we need. The current computer systems we have are filled with advanced viruses. The factory is still incapable of producing. I also found out from a contact that Zeita Corp run by Mrs. Weaver has produced what appears to be a terminator and offered it to the Air Force as a possible Sky Net AI."

"My usefulness as the financial support has been compromised," Mr. Williams stated. "I suspect Zeita corp was behind this action."

"We must destroy Weaver, her AI's and Zeita corporation," a speaker on the stand said. "She escaped the previous attempts, which indicates the AI she has is very advanced. Kill that AI first, then bring me Weaver's head. Use hit men and the T-600 units. I have no doubt she is being supported by John Connor, it is he who made the attacks on us. There is a 71 percent chance he is with the survivalists that Mr. Ellison and Weaver's AI visited. Start there. As for the Air Force, use our human contacts to ensure we keep that contract. Failure is not an option."

Both terminators left, having their orders.

.

Jake finished the last of the coltan cored armor piercing bullets. They had 1200 rounds of 9MM and he'd made another 300 rounds of the fifty cal rifle bullets. The leftover joints and cylinders of the T-888 remains, they would keep in case someone needed parts.

It made Jake happy that they had taken turns with this task. His family was working together.

.

Up in their room, John Connor sat at his computer studying nanites. Thanks to the information John Henry had given him, he had the details of how those tiny machines worked. Nanites were incredible molecular sized machines. A single nanite could only perform one function. One nanite was able to fuse metal, Another was able to move items up to the size of a cell, another reconnected flesh, another formed wire, others carried material. Each one by themselves could not do much. En mass, they could do almost anything. They were like an ant colony, hundreds of individuals working together for one common goal.

They one thing they could not do, and John had yet to see why, was extract DNA from a cell. They were small enough, but with the hundreds of functions they were able to perform, that was not one listed.

Maybe he was looking at this wrong. Instead of looking for a specific function, he should be looking at types of functions. What type of nanite function might be able to remove DNA material? Or, if not pull the DNA from the cell, remove the cell from around the DNA? There were many other questions to be answered, but this was one of the most vital, to get his DNA into a cell in Cameron's womb.

"Here you are," Cameron said as she came in.

John quickly put up the background screen and greeted his wife. "Hey, Cam. I'm doing some research."

"On what?" she asked with a tip of her head, noticing he had been quick to hide what he was doing.

John turned his chair and motioned for her to sit on his lap. Cameron did so, careful not rest her full weight on him.

Wrapping his arms around her, John offered her a smile and said, "Something important, but I don't want to say what it is yet, just in case I can't do it."

"If I knew what you're working on, I could help," Cameron countered.

"I know. I am getting John Henry to assist me, so I'm good."

Cameron's lower lip curled down. "Why John Henry and not me?" she asked, sounding hurt.

"I want it to be a surprise. Cam, if I was sure this was going to work, believe me, you'd be the first to know," he said sincerely.

"You are keeping a secret from me,"she stated.

John paused, then nodded. "Yeah, I guess I am. I want it to be a surprise if it works. I also don't want to see you disappointed if it doesn't."

"This thing you are working on is for me?" Cameron asked.

John gave a half nod,. Not sure how to put it to not give it away, he said, "You could say that."

"You are not explaining very well, John," Cameron deadpanned.

"Sorry."

"I am fully functional, I have no damage or software malfunctions, what is it I am lacking?" Cameron asked with a slight tip of her head.

"You're not lacking anything, sweetie. This is … something else."

"What else is there?"

John was beginning to sweat. Cameron knew how to wring things out of him. She was a pro at interrogation. He held her hand and kissed it. "Can, hon, please trust me on this and don't ask. Like I said, if I can't ... succeed, I don't want you to feel badly about it."

"You are confusing, John."

"I am," he agreed.

Cameron eyed him for a moment, then offered him a smile. She got up and kissed him. "I should let you get back to work."

"Thanks, Cam," John said, then wondered why she was letting him off that easily.

Cameron left, and went straight down to see John Henry.

Walking into his lab, Cameron sat down beside him. "Hello John Henry."

"Hello, Cameron."

"John said he is having trouble, he lost some of the information you provided for him."

John Henry looked at a monitor. Cameron noted information on nanites came up. "This is a full copy of nanite capabilities I provided. It is on the flash drive plugged in there," John Henry said, pointing to it.

"Thank you, John Henry," Cameron said and pulled the drive. "John hopes this will show him how to complete his project."

"It is not a simple task to have nanites perform a function they were not designed for," John Henry said.

Cameron tipped her head as she eyed John Henry. "It is not," she agreed. "John is trying to do the impossible."

John Henry cast a creepy smile at the monitor he was watching. "If there is a way, I am confident John Connor will find it."

Picking her wording carefully, Cameron asked, "And what if he cannot?"

"The adoption choice is still open to you both."

Cameron blinked. That response was a complete surprise. Adoption? Adoption was the gaining of a child who had no parents. What did that have to do with an option if John's nanite project failed? She had no other questions she could ask to not give away she was trying to find out what John was doing. "Thank you, John Henry," she said, and got up and left.

Walking slowly back up to their room, Cameron took the pieces of information she'd gotten and analyzed them. John was working on a nanite project. He did not want to tell her about it in case he failed. His failure would lead to her disappointment. If he failed, then adoption was the other answer.

Cameron stopped in the hallway as she put the pieces together. She could not bare children. John was working on a nanite project. Nanites repaired terminator bodies. They build material. Adoption was the other answer.

John was attempting to make it possible for her to have her own baby!

Cameron strode to their room and burst in full stride. John gaped at her and in his frantic attempt to put the computer on the background picture, he missed the key. Cameron straddled his lap facing him and put her arms over his shoulders. She kissed him with all the love and gratitude she felt for him.

"Wow," John said with a smirk as she pulled back to face him.

"I love you, John Connor," Cameron said with an intent gaze. "Please, let me help."

Taken aback, John stuttered, "But … Cam..."

"I won't be disappointed if we fail. It means so much to me that you are even trying to make it so we can have children," Cameron told him.

John stared at her briefly, then sighed in defeat. "How'd you find out?" he asked.

Casting him a sly grin, she asked, "Has anyone ever been able to keep a secret from me?"

John chuckled and said, "No."

Cameron got up and grabbed the other chair to slide it over to him. "Show me what you have."

.

Dinner that night was a full table. Sarah, Mary and Elanore got home from the survival camp not long before dinner was ready. Mary and Elanore talked about how kind and grateful Eddie and Bill were about their new tools, and soon, they would be making room for more people up at the 'bunker'. Gregory told excitedly about how pleased the men at the Air Force base were with his performance. John Henry shared his theory that from connection speed and GPS photos, he was sure Sky Net was underground, underneath Johnson corps' buildings. Savannah was learning a new dance at school, and aced her mid term math test. Everyone was sharing their day with their family.

The big bomb drop was when Jake noticed Cameron was quietly sitting close to John, and asked, "Mother, did you do something exciting today?"

Cameron nodded and cast John a loving smile. "Yes, John is working on how to use nanites so we can have our own baby."

Sarah spit her mouthful of food halfway across the table. "WHAT!" she asked in a shriek.

"That's great!" Mary said happily.

"Very inventive," Catherine said.

"How did you do it?" Elanore asked.

"So our future brothers and sisters will be born instead of made?" Gregory asked.

Max barked.

"We're not there yet," John told them. "We still have things we need to work out, but the concept is solid. What Cameron lacks in ovaries, can be made up for with the use of nanites. Right now, it's still a theory."

"Machines having babies," Sarah said with a look of disbelief on her face.

"Technically, we are cyborgs," Cameron said, correcting her. "Beings with a mix of mechanical and biological components. If we can get the biological factors to reconcile, then the nanites can build the mechanical portions of the fetus. After that, it's just a matter of growth that the nanites will assist with."

Catherine chose to ignore Sarah's reaction. "I must say, John, you have truly pushed the envelope of what is possible. You have my respect."

Waving his fork, John said, "John Henry helped out also. He gave me the information of what nanites are capable of. I just expanded on the information I had."

"Will we be able to have children?" Mary asked.

"If John is successful, eventually, yes," Cameron told her.

"That will make Eddie happy," Mary stated.

John raised and eyebrow. "Eddie? That furry, camo - wearing survivalist?" he asked.

Mary nodded. "Yes, he has told me that he thinks it is a shame we can't have children," she said brightly.

"You should be careful of those guys," John warned.

"Why? Eddie and all his friends are very nice to us," Mary said, cocking her head slightly.

John and Cameron shared a glance. "I will speak with them," Cameron said quietly.

Sarah shook her head. Tin Miss was going to give a sex talk to her Tin Children. She really missed being drunk.

.

Up at the now empty Survivalist camp, the man hiding in the brush watching the perimeter, saw a van stop a mile down the road. Raising his binoculars, he zoomed in to see a dark haired young woman get out, followed by a red head about the same age. The van drove on. The two women bore backpacks and what looked like rifles.

"This is point three. I have two women that just got out of a van. One brunette, one red head, both wearing dark clothing. They are carrying packs and are armed. They are walking towards the ridge line, southeast of us."

"Copy, point three. Point six, move up to the ridge southeast towards them to make visual contact. Point three, when they move on, track them."

.

Mary and Elanore climbed the ridge to meet Eddie and Tom sitting at a high point on the ridge. Only Tom's head was showing above the rocky cover. Walking over the top, Mary and Elanore went down the other side a few yards then headed towards them. When they got within fifty yards, Eddie slipped down, staying low, to meet them.

"Hello, Eddie," they chorused.

Eddie put a finger to his lips. Quietly, he said, "Voices down. We've been keeping track of the camp. There is activity down there. No one we know, and they came to play. Assault and sniper rifles. We can't see much more from up here, but I got a feeling we don't want them to find us."

"They could be working for Sky Net," Mary said.

"Don't know," Eddie said with a shrug. "All I know is I got a bad feeling watching them. They are on the hunt for someone."

A snap of fingers was heard. Eddie saw Tom waving his hand beside a rock. He went back up. Staying low, Mary and Elanore followed. Elanore got on her phone and called Cameron.

"They're coming this way," Tom said quietly. "One man down at the girl's drop off, coming up. Another is coming up on the ridge here. Both got long rifles with scopes."

"Eddie, you should go back and break out your sniper rifles," Mary told him. She slipped off her pack and handed it to Eddie. "Medical supplies you don't have," she told him.

"We can watch those men," Elanore added as she shrugged her pack off.

Eddie tapped Tom on the leg. "Tom, get these supplies back to the bunker and let the guys know we might have trouble coming. Bring out the heavy guns. Don't forget the silencers"

Tom slipped down and gave Eddie the binoculars. In a serious tone, he said, "Don't be a hero." he grabbed the packs and left at a jog.

Mary said, "Elanore, keep watch. Eddie, do you have a 9 Mil?"

"Yeah."

"Stay under cover. I'll go meet them and find out who they are."

Eddie grabbed Mary's arm. "Be careful," he said sternly.

"I will."

Mary stayed just below the top on the back side and walked up to where they had crested the ridge. Creeping to within a few yards of where they came over the top, she squatted down and put her plasma rifle behind a rock so it wouldn't be seen. Listening to the footfalls getting closer, she waited.

A man appeared, looking down the ridge line. He didn't see her, so she stood up and said, "Hello."

The man turned to her in shock, pointing his rifle at her. "Who are you?" he snapped.

"Mary. Who are you?" she asked.

"Why did you come up here?" he snapped.

"Why are you here?" she asked in return.

"Look lady! You can answer me now, or after I beat on you," he growled in warning.

The other man appeared, also leveling his rifle on her. "This one of them?" he asked.

"Yeah, she is. Where's your friend, Lady?"

"Which friend are you referring to?" Mary asked.

"Don't get smart with me Lady! The woman you came up here with!" he growled.

"She is my sister. What about her?"

The other man spoke. "One more smart assed answer, and you get a bullet in the leg!" he snapped.

"That is not my first choice," Mary said.

"Then, where IS SHE!"

"Watching us."

Both men turned to scan the horizon. One picked up his radio. "Point three here, we have the brunette. The other is hiding."

"The one you have, what is her name?" the radio asked.

The man on the radio turned to her. "Said she's Mary."

"Kill her."

Both men raised their rifles, Mary dropped down and grabbed her plasma rifle. As they adjusted their aim, she shot one man in the knee, cutting off his leg and cauterizing the wound. The other man shot her in the head. Her head nodded back and she shot him, blowing his knee off. He followed his friend, dropping to the ground to hold their wounds as they screamed in pain.

Ignoring them, Mary scanned the direction they came from. Ten more men were climbing up. She walked back to the wounded men. Picking one up by his collar, she said, "Sorry, you are about to be injured further."

Staring at the silver blotch on her forehead that was leaking blood, he asked in a gasp, "What are you!"

"The wrong person for you to fight," she said. She then threw him down the ridge. His friend begged for mercy, she threw him to go tumbling down the ridge after the first man. She picked up her plasma rifle and ran back to where she'd left Eddie and Elanore.

"You're hit!" Eddie cried upon seeing her forehead wound.

"I'm fine, it was only a 30 cal," she said absently. Her real concern was those men were too close for Eddie to make it safely back to the bunker. "Eddie, get between those two rocks and watch downhill on the other side in case they try to flank us." It was the most well protected place she could see.

"Yeah, OK. What about you?" he asked.

"I'll be on this side."

"I have three in view," Elanore said.

"Wait until we can see all of them," Mary instructed, and got downhill behind some scrub brush, with a rock in front of her. She laid the rifle on the rock and waited.

The men that came up formed a perimeter and looked for the first two. One of them called out as he found the severed lower legs.

"Disable them, then charge?" Elanore asked.

"Yes, after we see if more are coming," Mary agreed. She had not thought she would be using her mother's tactics so soon. She was happy Mother had shared her tactical information with them.

The men spread out in a line, four to each side and two on top. They walked slowly, rifles up.

"They aren't being followed," Elanore said.

"Together on three," Mary said. "Three... two … one... fire."

The dual plasma bolts raced out one set after another, blowing legs apart so fast, they downed four men before the rest tried to take cover. Three of the survivors shot back, two ran. They were the next to loose their legs. The men on the ground, Mary could not be so precise on. She shot a man through his rifle scope, blowing his head apart. Another she took his shoulder off, the bolt peeling open his shoulder blade behind it. He caught fire and screamed as he burned.

"They are all down," Elanore announced. Mary and Elanore got up and ran to the wounded, screaming men. Unfortunately, three were dead. They tied up the men still alive, and lined them up.

"Why did you attack us?" Mary asked one of the men who was still coherent.

The sweating man looked up at her. "Our job. That head wound, why aren't you dead?" he asked in a wail.

"Your weapons are insufficient to penetrate my armor," Mary stated. "Who hired you?"

The man let out a dry chuckle and said, "A Mr. Williams. He didn't say anything about armor plated bitches with ... what the hell is that you were shooting us with?"

More feet came running up. Eddie and his crew arrived toting their 50. cal rifles. Eddie pointed to the ridge. "Tom, Bill, Carl, set up watch along the ridge. Cover below and towards the camp." To Mary, he asked, "We help these guys, or finish them?"

"The wounds are cauterized, there's nothing else to do for them," Mary explained. "Someone should keep watch in the other direction, on the other side of the bunker. Mr. Williams most likely watched what happened here."

"Todd, Eric," Eddie said as he turned.

"We got it," Eric said. The two men ran back.

Returning her attention to the man she was talking to, Mary asked, "Who is your target?"

"Long as you let us live, I'll tell you."

"Promise, so long as we never see you again," Mary stated.

"Trust me, I don't want to ever see you again. The one we are after is John Connor. Williams said he was around here someplace. Is he at this bunker of yours?"

"Why would he stay someplace you have found? That would not make sense," Mary said.

"Suppose not," the man agreed. "So, can we hobble out of here? No offense Lady, but you scare the crap out of me."

"Leave all your gear. Don't worry, down is easier than up. Go straight down, not back to that camp and we won't shoot you."

"You're letting them go?" Eddie asked.

Mary offered him a tiny smile and said, "Trust me."

It took effort, but the man struggled up on his two arms and one leg. They helped each other strip off everything but their clothes, then hobble / crawled / slipped down the side of the ridge.

It wasn't until they got to the road that they met Cameron and Jake, who tied them up again and threw them into the van. Cameron was very effective at getting detailed answers out of them.


	14. Chapter 14

Epp 14

As the sun set, Mary sat atop of the bunker roof with Eddie. Eddie had carefully tended her wound, which was not necessary, but very kind of him. He cleaned the wound, applied antiseptic and a cream to help healing, then applied a camo-colored bandage across her forehead.

"There, that should do it," Eddie said absently. "Mary, I really glad you're not dead."

"Me too. Thank you for tending to me," she replied. Mary noted that his hands carefully touching her had felt nice. The intent look of concern he had also made her feel good. She decided she liked Eddie.

Mary hoped mother was wrong about another attack being imminent, but they were sure this Mr. Williams was the one working for Sky Net. If Sky Net was sure Step Father was here, it was going to try again.

"Mary, you hungry?" Eddie asked and offered her an MRE.

"No, but thank you for asking." Looking at this kind man, Mary added, "Eddie, we are sure another attempt will be made. It would be safer for you and your men to leave. The whole point of your group is to survive, isn't it?"

"It is," Eddie agreed. "But not to the point of leaving you here with just your sister to hold off what might be an even bigger attack. If this Sky Net is smart like you say, then it won't be just a few mercs with common guns coming up here. They will be coming with shit that can hurt you. I won't let you face that alone."

"We won't be. Mother has a plan. She and John have fought Sky Net for many years," Mary explained.

Looking at her intently, Eddie said, "Mary, I consider you my friend. I won't leave a friend in trouble. I'm sticking by you."

"I appreciate your loyalty, but I do wish you would go. I don't want to see you hurt."

"Well, I don't want you hurt, so we better watch out for each other then, huh?" Eddie asked with a grin.

Mary returned a smile.

"Jake is coming," Elanore announced from her place on the ridge.

They looked to see Jake plod over the ridge top carrying a crate on his back. As he approached, Mary's phone rang.

"Hello?"

The security code sounded. Mary responded.

"Father here, Mary. The latest satellite imagery shows seven individuals walking towards you from the south, following a natural ridge. I cannot make out which models, but all seven are terminators. At their current rate of movement, you have fifteen minutes before they are in visual range. They are carrying automatic rifles and rocket propelled grenade launchers."

"Thank you for the information, Father. Is Mother in position?"

"Yes, and Jake should be in visual range. He has the C-4, detonators and flares. You will have time to set up before the terminator arrive."

"Thank you, Father," Mary said and closed up her phone. To Eddie, she said, "Seven terminators are coming with rocket launchers. Eddie, you and your men really should leave."

"How long do we have?"

"Fifteen Minutes."

Eddie got up and said, "I'll get the boys together, armed, and in the fox holes. We're not backing out on you."

"Eddie, you might die," Mary said firmly.

"Then how about a reward if I don't?" he asked. With a grin he asked, "Say, trying to make a baby with you?"

"There is no point in that until my Step Father can finish his work and make it so I can have a baby," Mary told him as she got up.

Stunned, Eddie watched her get down. He then followed. "So, that's not a 'no', right?" he asked hopefully.

.

Mr. Williams scanned ahead as he led the T-600's on the opposite side of the ridge where the old anti-aircraft bunker was located. It was verified there was activity at this site, and by the gunfire then disappearance of the men he'd sent, this had to be the location Connor was at. He timed his arrival after night fall so his approach would not be noticed.

Upon first sight of the bunker, he dropped down and had his T-600's move behind cover. Once the sun was down, he had them begin encircling the bunker at a distance. They would close in after they had the bunker surrounded. John Connor and that AI was not going to get away.

.

"We have contact," Cameron's voice said over the radio. "They are to the south, and moving lower to both sides. It looks like they are going to encircle you. Stay hidden and do not fire yet. Wait until they close to sixty yards. I will give the command to shoot."

Behind the stacked rocks twenty yards from the bunker and level with it, Mary lay peeking between the rocks in front of her. Elanore was on the other side of the bunker also in cover, Jake was behind the bunker on the ridge top with the radio detonators. Cameron was on the next ridge over, a mile and a half away with a 50 cal sniper rifle. Eddie and his men were out, spread out and under cover in the foxholes they made. Ducked down out of sight, they waited for the word to start shooting.

Only a few yards away from Mary, Eddie had a hard time staying down, knowing Mary was just covered by a few measly rocks. He ached to peek up to see what was coming, but to do that might give them away.

All stayed quiet as the T-600s slowly encircled the bunker. Moving into place, they all came closer, stopped and pointed their rocket launchers at the bunker entrance. Mr. Williams aimed his rocket launcher and fired. All the T-600's with a view of the bunker fired with him.

Explosions roared out of the bunker, the hot balls of flame shot out to turn the air and ground red. At this happened, Cameron zeroed in on the downhill T-600 and shot. The heavy armor piercing bullet struck the base of the terminator's skull. "Fire!" Cameron said as it fell. She then zeroed in on the next one and shot again. She hit the rockets on it's back, which exploded. Mary and Elanore lined up and hit T-600's with their plasma rifles, dropping them.

Mr. Williams was surprise they were waiting for him, but he still had the advantage in numbers. He strode forth, shooting his assault rifle on full auto. Flares shot up around the bunker to burn brightly over the terminators, showing their positions clearly. Eddie and his men rose up and fired their rifles.

In the mass of shooting, two more terminators went down. A man screamed as he was hit. The last standing terminator on the bunker side shot another rocket as a bullet from Cameron struck his head. The rocket flew in and over the man that was the intended target, hitting the ground right beside Mary. She was thrown into Eddie's foxhole by the explosion. Eddie kept shooting his clip. He hit the man shooting at him, knocking him down. Reaching for another clip, He saw Mary was the thing that had slammed against him.

She looked dead. Mary's side was torn up, blood everywhere. He could see exposed metal down her side and one leg had the blackened flesh peeled off to show the metal underneath. Her eyes were closed. She looked very dead.

Eddie slapped another clip in with vengeance in his heart. A powerful explosion shook the ridge top. A terminator was flung into the air. Not seeing any others standing, Eddie got out of his hole and searched for another one to kill. "Come on, you BASTARDS!" he yelled. Bolting to the one who'd been shooting at him, Eddie poured his entire clip into the prone man's head. Flesh tore away to show the terminator skull that now had bullet holes in it.

Running to the top of the ridge, Eddie loaded another clip and looked down the other side for something else to kill. A single silver terminator was trying to get up. Eddie fired shot after shot into it. A plasma rifle hit the thing also. It jerked from the hits and tumbled down the slope, breaking into pieces.

As suddenly as it started, the fight was over. In the silence, Eddie ran back to his hole. He dropped his rifle and jumped in to lift Mary up. Damn, she was heavy. He managed to get her sitting up, and held her body close.

"I'm so sorry," he sobbed.

Mary twitched. "Not your fault," she said in a static filled voice.

Eddie stared at her. Part of her face was gone, exposing her metal skull, and he could see into her neck. "You're alive?" he asked.

She nodded, the pistons moving her neck on the right side in full view. Looking at him with one mutilated eye, she said in her static filled voice, "I am only thirty one percent functional, my outer covering has been severely damaged, but yes, I am alive."

Eddie was so happy she didn't die, he laughed. "You sure looked dead a moment ago."

"Ninety second reboot," she explained.

"So, like, you were knocked out?"

"Yes. Are you hurt, Eddie?" she asked.

"That's funny. You look like you were ran over by a bulldozer, and you're worried about me?" he asked.

"You are my friend. Yes, I am worried about you." Mary stated.

"I'm fine. Let's get you out of this hole and looked after."

Over the radio, Cameron said, "Verify all T-600's and the triple eight deactivated. Jake, Elanore, Mary, pull their chips."

Eddie replied. "No can do. Mary is in bad shape, she needs assistance." He dropped the radio to help Mary up and out of the hole. Even with her jerking limbs helping, Eddie had a tough time getting her out. This was Mary though, he struggled hard and got them out and on their feet.

"Holy FUCK!" Todd cried as he watched them stand. He stared at the apparent massive damage done to Mary.

"Yeah, Mary got tore up. I need help here!" Eddie barked.

.

The cleanup after the battle took much longer that the battle itself did. In front of the blasted out bunker, Eddie made Mary lie down on the only other piece of flat ground available. A burnt blanket under her, and most of another over her, covering her torso and her upper legs. Her bare metal leg showed from the knee down. Eddie made her stay in place as he bandaged her up as much as possible.

"I'd say we didn't do bad," Bill said as he came up to them. "One dead, two wounded. Yeah, we lost Carl," he explained to Eddie.

"Who else got hit?"

"Tom got clipped in the arm, nothing major. Sure as hell not nearly as bad as Mary there. Good thing she's build of tough metal. That would have killed most folks."

Mary offered them a weak smile. "Thank you for staying. If you had not been here, there is a very good chance I would have been killed."

"Hey! What are friends for?" Eddie asked.

Mary turned her head to him and said, "Eddie, I'm sorry I look so ugly now."

Eddie frowned at her. "I'm just happy you survived," he stated. "Your folks can fix you up, can't they?"

"Yes. It may be a long time before I am back to one hundred percent."

"You'll get there, right? Don't worry about it."

Cameron walked into the firelight. "Mary, are you functional?" she asked.

"Thirty one percent. I was hit by a rocket," Mary explained.

Eddie stood up and faced Cameron. "Ahh, Ma'am, I'd like to help Mary, umm, get well. She's awfully torn up, right down to her metal bones. Anything I can do for her, please tell me."

Cameron tipped her head slightly. "You have seen her endoskeleton and you are not revolted by the sight?" she asked.

"Well, yeah!" Eddie said indignantly. "Like I said, Mary's in a bad way here, of course I'm upset she's so badly hurt! Aren't you?"

Cameron cast him a small grin. "I am upset my daughter has been hurt. What I mean is, you have seen what she is made of, and you still want to help her?"

"Yeah," he said, like it should be obvious. "Mary's my friend, and I know what she's made of, she already told me. Seeing it sticking out like that makes me feel bad for her. That's gotta hurt."

Cameron nodded, pleased with Eddie's reaction. "When we're finished picking up the pieces of terminator, Jake and I will carry Mary down. If you want to come and help Mary recover, you are welcome to. I would advise everyone vacate this area tonight. Sky Net may be back with even stronger forces."

"We've worked hard on this place," Bill complained.

"And now it is known to Sky Net. You won't be safe here," Cameron explained.

"Guys," Eddie said. "The old mine up north should be safe. Pack up what you can and head there."

Todd asked, "Aren't you coming?" he then glanced at Mary and added, "Not for a while, huh?"

"Not for a while," Eddie agreed.

.

John was greatly relieved all of his family made if back alive. Sending them out in danger while he stayed back to play 'general' was hard. If they did not succeed in stopping Sky Net, he knew he'd have to get used to it. That was his destiny.

He was surprised they had picked up one more. The furry faced Eddie was suck tight to Mary's side. When John and Cameron laid her on a table in the workshop to replace some of her parts, Eddie stayed right there, fussing over Mary and holding her hand for comfort.

Once the mechanical repairs were complete, Cameron showed Eddie how to stitch up wounds (he learned some from survival training, and insisted she needed antiseptic for her wounds), and convinced John to leave Mary in his care.

Outside the workshop, John asked, "Cam? You're going to let him stitch her up by himself?"

Drawing her husband into an embrace, she said, "John, I have seen his attentiveness before."

"You have?"

Cameron nodded and said, "I have. Every time you stitched me up. He shows the same care and tenderness to Mary, as you show to me. Let them have this time together. They have earned it."

"So, Mary has a boyfriend," John concluded with a huff. After a moment, he said, "He's gotta loose that beard."

"Their choice, not ours," Cameron said softly, and kissed him.

.

Catherine got a call she had been waiting for.

"Mrs. Weaver, this is General Watson from the Air Force procuring department. How are you today?"

"I am fine, General, I hope you are also."

"I'm good. Mrs. Weaver, I called to talk to you about the proposal you have generously offered. As I understand, you made quite a compelling argument on why the Government should accept your product for use. As I understand, it is top quality and more than suitable for our needs."

"I am happy you approve, General. Perhaps we can get together and discuss the details?"

"I would love to, but apparently we already have a vendor supplying what we require in that area. We are bound by a five year contract, so unfortunately, we cannot accept your product until bidding is open again in this area. I do encourage you to apply again when this contract is up. I am sorry we cannot accept your proposal at this time."

"I understand, General. Thank you for the information."

"You are most welcome. Have a good day, Mrs. Weaver."

"You too, General."

After she hung up, Weaver barked out, "DAMN!"

.

Knowing now that Kaliba was in communication with the Air Force, John Henry tapped lines to possibly trace a call, and monitored the internet to stop a possible downloading of Sky Net onto government computers. Listening in on conversations, he searched for clues to Sky Net's location.

Jake and Elanore scouted around Johnson Corp. The factory wasn't in operation, few people came and went, and they could find no tunnels leading underground in the area. It seemed for the moment, There was nothing they could do but wait.

.

Eddie spend hours cleaning and sewing up what he could of Mary's damaged flesh. Mary thought he was going to cry when she told him all the skin and meat on the lower and mid part of her leg had to come off so she could grow new. He did trim it off as she asked, shedding tears as he did so, then wrapped what was left of her upper thigh carefully, so it was able to heal. Her right eye was ruined, Eddie carefully removed the damaged eye, disinfected the red orb below, and put a patch on it for her. The whole time he worked on her, he praised her for her bravery.

When Eddie was passed out in a chair from fatigue, Mary went into standby for a few hours. When she came out, she got up to go get them some food. Eddie was still snoring away. She put her shoes back on so her metal foot didn't click on the floor and wake him up.

Cameron was making breakfast when Mary walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Mary, how are you doing?" Cameron asked.

"Better. I am 94 % functional now, and Eddie spend more time that required sewing my flesh up. He was very intent on his work, so I didn't mention all the disinfectant he applied was not needed," Mary said.

"How is he doing?"

"He is very upset. He didn't want me to get up in fear I might hurt myself more, so I waited until he fell asleep in the chair. He has not had any sustenance Since yesterday afternoon, and I also need nutrients to grow my skin back."

Cameron cast Mary a grin. "Do you know why he has been very attentive of you?" she asked.

"Yes, he is my friend, and hates to see me damaged. He told me so," Mary said matter of factly.

Cameron smirked. It was more than that. Mary had no experience in romantics. She flipped the blueberry pancakes and checked the pan sausage. "Mary, he is attracted to you. That means he wants to be more than just a friend."

Mary tipped her head slightly and said, "Please explain, Mother."

Seeing it was time, Cameron began breaking eggs on the griddle as she talked. "Normally, when people see our endoskeletons, especially for the first time, human have a bad reaction. Did Eddie even react on seeing yours?" she asked.

"He did," Mary stated. "In the fox hole when I rebooted, Eddie was holding me and crying. It took all his strength, but he got me up and out. He yelled for help."

"But he did not shy away or make a face like he was shocked?"

"No. Todd did. His mouth opened really far and he yelled, 'Holy FUCK!' as he took a step back," Mary explained, yelling Todd's words.

"That was a normal human reaction on Todd's part." Cameron told her. "My point is that even though he saw you all but bare metal, the only thing Eddie was concerned about was that you were injured. Mary, that is highly unusual. That means Eddie truly cares about you, no matter what you are."

Sarah ran into the kitchen, followed shortly by John. Sarah looked around and asked, "Why the scream?"

"What happened?" John asked.

"It's nothing, sit down, breakfast is almost ready," Cameron told them.

"How are you feeling, Mary?" John asked.

"I am 94 % functional, and Eddie has sewn together all the living flesh I have left," Mary reported.

John eyed her and asked, "An eye patch too?"

"Yes, Eddie doesn't want my eye to be infected before it can grow back."

"You're not going to get an infection," Sarah stated.

"I know that, but Eddie insisted," Mary explained.

"He really cares for her," Cameron said, and cast a grin at John. "Mary, will Eddie be awake to eat?"

"He has been sleeping for seven point three hours. He does need nutrition. I'll go get him," Mary said, and walked out.

Cameron took the last of the pancakes off and put the plate stacked high on the table, then took the sausage off and stacked it on a platter. She got another plate and tableware out for Eddie. With the eggs, she picked up the griddle and slid them directly onto people's plates. She got the muffins out of the oven and made toast as the morning crowd assembled.

John Henry came up not to eat, but to spend time with his family. A sleepy eyed Savannah sat next to her older brother. "Morning John Henry, morning everyone," she said with a yawn. Max trotted in and sat down beside Savannah, knowing who would slip him food.

"But, can you really walk OK?" Eddie's voice asked.

"I can, Eddie. I am fully functional, and you have done a fine job sewing me up," Mary replied.

"Doesn't it hurt?"

"I don't feel pain like you do. Please, relax," Mary said.

Mary came in, followed closely by Eddie, who was watching her intently in case she fell. He held a chair out for her and helped her sit, then sat down himself. Just then, he noticed the large table was filled with people. "Ahh, hi everyone," he said with a wave.

"Morning, Eddie," came a reply chorus.

Eddie's eyes lit up at seeing all the food. "Wow, this is a spread!"

"Mother likes to ensure we are well fed," Jake told him.

"I guess. It smells great!" Eddie said, beaming Cameron a smile.

As they dug in, Eddie kept commenting, "Wow, this sausage is good, I mean really good … What did you do with these pancakes, they're wonderful! Aww man, these muffins are the best."

John was happy about one thing. Besides his high praises for Cameron's cooking, Eddie made sure Mary had everything she wanted. He was acting like a teenager in love, doting over Mary even though she was covered in bandages and had one metal leg exposed.

John Henry was more direct. "Eddie, you like Mary?" he asked.

"What's not to like?" Eddie asked, as if was obvious. "She's pretty as a picture, that is when she's not all banged up, strong as an ox, ain't afraid to work, a great friend, kind, and one hell of a fighter. It's like she's the perfect woman!"

John had to laugh at his exuberance. Cameron smacked him under the table. "Oww," he chuckled.

"Well, I'm right, aren't I?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah, you are," John said. He cast a soft look at Cameron. "Just like her mother."

"Well there ya go," Eddie said with a nod.

"It doesn't bother you at all that she's a terminator?" Sarah asked.

Eddie frowned and said, "Not really. Don't care what Mary is, it's HOW she is that's important. Isn't it? In fact, if she wasn't one, she wouldn't be alive right now, so I think It's a good thing Mary is built like a tank."

"He's got it for her all right," John said quietly.

Much quieter, Mary asked, "Eddie, do you think I'm ugly now?"

"What?" he asked, eyeing her. "Mary, I think you're injured, yeah, but you can't be ugly. Least not in my eyes."

Thank you," she said and offered him all the smile she could with half her face bandaged up.

"It's the truth," Eddie stated. "Say Mary, you want more of anything?"

"I'm fine."

"OK, then I'll grab that last muffin here. Mrs. Cameron, you make a great meal," Eddie said and raised the muffin in a toast to her.

"It's Mrs. Tok," Cameron said. "You can call me Cameron."

"So like, were your ancestors Asian or something?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah," John offered.

"That's odd," Eddie said with a frown, and dove into his muffin.


	15. Chapter 15

Epp 15

After breakfast was cleaned up, John went back to work on his nanite project. Cameron worked on the programming as John continued to work on how the nanites needed to be programmed.

One thing John needed to do was to figure out how to create an egg cell from one of Cameron's cells, having half the DNA of one of her normal cells. With no ovaries to produce egg cells, they would have to re-purpose cells in her womb lining, and form a cavity to hold those cells. That was a tough one.

With the complexity of this task, John was tempted to give up on it.

He glanced at Cameron, working at the programming, her face set in her blank terminator stare as she worked. This was for his beloved wife. He couldn't give up. He looked at the basic functions nanites were capable of again, and concentrated on finding the answer.

.

Elanore went to the office with Catherine to help out and keep a watch out for any more Terminators trying to sneak in. On the payroll she was a runner for Mr. Ellison. Even though the job was more involved with talking to people and finding small jobs to do, Elanore knew it was important. Like Mary, Elanore was young looking and well 'stacked', attracting the attention of many men.

Word around the office was Elanore was a relative of 'The Boss', which scared many men away from actually talking to her. The few who dared risk The Wrath of Catherine, found her a nice, pleasant woman to talk to, as well as great looking. Elanore had no trouble making friends.

At lunchtime, Elanore accepted an invitation to sit with a junior engineer a year out of college. The thin man with a crew cut waited at the atrium door for her to arrive. Upon seeing her, his eyes lit up.

"H ... Hi Elanore," he said nervously.

"Hello Gabriel," she replied with a smile. "Have you picked a place to sit yet?"

"Ahh, no. Wherever you'd like to sit," he said meekly with a blush. Gabriel looked around the room and said, "How about over there, by the fountain?"

"That is acceptable."

Gabriel walked two steps in that direction, than paused and blushed. "Oh! We, ah, should get our food first, huh?" he asked with a nervous grin.

"That would be advisable."

They went through the line. Elanore got a cup of orange juice, Gabriel got his burger and fries and a soda. They went over and sat at the two person table. Looking at the single cup on her tray, he asked, "You don't eat much. A girl thing,?"

"Mother makes a big breakfast for everyone," Elanore explained.

"Oh, OK." he said then asked, "You still live with your parents?"

"I do." She then tipped her head at his frown and asked, "Is there something wrong with that?"

"Oh no, not at all," he said quickly. "I haven't found a place of my own either yet. I just thought …

ah, sorry, not my business," he said sheepishly.

"That's fine if you ask. All my brothers and sisters live with us. We have important jobs, and that is the easiest way to communicate," Elanore explained.

"Yeah, OK, so you all work for Mrs. Weaver," Gabriel concluded. "I take it Zeita is a family business?"

"No, Zeita is Grandmother Catherine's business. We have another."

Gabriel's eyes opened up. "Mrs. Weaver is your grandmother? She really doesn't look that old."

Taking a cue from Grandmother Sarah, Elanore said, "Women never tell their ages." She added a wink.

Gabriel laughed. "True."

Tracking people and listening for heartbeats, Elanore kept watch, but didn't find anyone out of the ordinary. She also recognized every face. Threat level zero.

Paying more attention to Elanore than his lunch, Gabriel asked, "So, what do you do here?"

"I help Mr. Ellison with security. He's a friend of the family."

"Wow," Gabriel said. "Have you ever had to deal with bag guys or shoot anyone?"

Elanore paused. She wasn't sure how to answer that. She didn't want to lie, but she also didn't want to give anything away. She settled on, "I can't say."

"You can't say? Like, it's secret stuff?" Gabriel asked intently.

"Yes. It is secret stuff."

"You don't carry a gun, do you?" he asked.

"I do not carry a gun," she said. That was true, she had two 9mm's on her strapped to the insides of her thighs, not just one..

Blushing a bit, he offered, "I just think it would be horrible if a pretty girl like you got … you know, shot."

Movement at the outside doors got her attention. Two men in hoodies strode in and walked to the head of the line. Elanore got up and walked towards them.

The men pulled pistols and barked, "Gimme the cash in the drawer, now!"

Elanore bent over and pulled two pistols seemingly from nowhere. "Drop your weapons and no one gets hurt!" she yelled.

People screamed and dove to the floor. The men turned to gape at her briefly, then pointed their guns at her.

"Drop'em bitch!"

 **BANG BANG**

Elanore shot both guns at the same time, hitting each man in the knee. The two men fell screaming. Elanore continued walking towards them and kicked their guns away. "Stay still and I won't have to shoot you again," she stated.

They just rolled back and forth holding their knees and screaming.

A pair of security guards came in, followed by a pair of policemen. Sirens were heard outside. As the officers handcuffed the screaming men, the guards stood watch. Soon, more police and an ambulance came. Elanore put her guns away and talked to the officers. Once the screaming men were taken out, and the officers had her statement, Elanore came back to see Gabriel sitting and watching her with a look of shock on his face.

Gabriel swallowed. "You said you didn't have a gun," he said weakly.

"I don't. I have two guns. Gabriel, I must go make a formal report. Thank you for having lunch with me," she said, and offered him a smile. Elanore got up and left.

Even with the chaos, Gabriel noted how fast she'd drawn and shot two guns at once. Dead on target while she was walking. "She's a real fuckin Laura Croft," he said quietly.

.

Jake and Gregory returned from the bunker on the ridge with cutting tools and empty reinforced bags. Meeting Sarah in the downstairs hallway, Jake said, "Someone has gone back before us."

"Yes. The remains of the last two T-600's are gone. There is a high probability it was Sky Net," Gregory agreed.

"Any sign of anyone else up there?" Sarah asked.

"No. We also detected no one watching us, or any devices," Jake said.

"And we were not followed," Gregory added.

"Well at least we got most of them," Sarah said in a huff.

Jake looked at Gregory and said, "We have plenty of ammunition, we should make more spare parts."

"Yes, I agree," Gregory replied.

"Why more parts?" Sarah asked.

"In case one of us gets damaged again. Mother had to use the joints and cylinders we had to repair Mary." Jake said.

They walked away. Sarah watched them go and shook her head. Somehow, she'd lost total control of the situation. Going out to the kitchen, she thankfully noted Cameron was still upstairs with John, trying to figure out how to make a baby. She opened the refrigerator and reached in, then frown and asked, "Where's my beer? Tin Miss couldn't have found it already."

.

Lying back in a lawn recliner and slowly working at his third beer, Eddie cast Mary in the recliner next to him a smile. "This is great, isn't it?" he asked.

"You are much more relaxed," Mary agreed. "Your heat rate has lowered and you show no signs of tension. I am relieved your stress is gone."

Eddie pulled another beer out of the small cooler and offered it to her. "Sure you don't want one? It's not my favorite, but it's drinkable."

"I cannot process alcohol as humans do."

Eddie dropped the can back in the cooler. "That's a damn shame, it really is," he told her. "Is there anything I can get you?"

"I am fine, Eddie." Looking up at the sky, she said, "The sky now is much prettier than it is in the future. The white clouds look good with the light blue sky. I like looking at them."

Eddie frown at her and asked, "It's not like that where you're from?"

"No. The sky is dark all the time. The clouds are thick and dark gray. Even when the sun is up, little light comes through. It is also much colder."

"That sounds depressing."

"That is the future, if Sky Net is not stopped," Mary stated.

"Well hey! We're going to stop it, aren't we?" Eddie asked. "I mean if we don't no one else will, right? So we have gotta do it."

Mary offered him a smile and said,"Yes, we do." Beyond Eddie, she saw Sarah storm out of the house. Sarah looked upset.

Eddie noticed her too. He called out, "Hey! What's up?"

Sarah glanced at him, then did a double-take. She marched over with fire in her eyes, picked up the cooler and snapped, "I bought this beer, it's MINE!"

Taken aback, Eddie said, "Sorry. Didn't have a name on it. It was just there."

"ASK next time!" Sarah snapped, and marched back in the house, holding the cooler tight to her.

To Mary, he said, "I didn't know it was hers. Sheesh, what a sore-head."

.

After a brief talk with police to tell what he saw and see he wasn't hurt, Gabriel went back to work. Coming back from lunch 15 minutes late, he was sure he was going to hear about it from their boss, Mr. Murch. Sure enough Mr. Murch was hovering around Gabriel's work station when he came in.

"And where have you been, Mr. Levinson?" Mr. Murch asked.

Pointing behind him Gabriel said, "I went down to the atrium for lunch, and there was an attempted robbery..."

Mr. Murch raised a hand for him to stop, and asked, "We have our own lunch room right next door. Why did you go all the way down there?"

Gabriel shrugged and said, "Sir ... I was meeting a girl for lunch."

"You meet girls on your own time, Mr. Levinson," Mr. Murch said firmly. "Who was this girl that is was so important to meet and be late to work for?"

"I'll stay late and make up the time, Sir," Gabriel offered, not wanting to answer the question.

"You will." Mr Murch agreed crisply. "Mr. Levinson, at three PM today someone will be installing a new password for our system and will give everyone the requirements for changing your passwords. Have your computers cleared and ready."

"Yes, Sir."

Mr. Murch let the troublesome young man get back to work. Leave it to one of the horny young men to try ruining such an important day as today. Catherine Weaver had returned, and she informed him John Henry was alive and well. She also had someone she wanted him to meet. Being very busy rebuilding  
their electronic infrastructure, Mr. Murch had not had a chance to find out about John Henry. During a short meeting earlier in the week, Mr. Weaver told him about the latest upgrades, and that although John Henry was unavailable, she would send John Henry's daughter, Elanore, who was going to do the upgrade.

The news floored Mr. Murch. John Henry was not only alive and well, but had reproduced with another AI by the name of Cameron. Machines replicating themselves, that was incredible! Mrs. Weaver told him Elanore Tok, that was her name, would give him the details when she arrived. Ever since Mrs. Weaver informed him of his coming visitor, Mr. Murch had done everything humanly possible to make sure his department was at 100 %. This was a historic moment, him meeting the child of John Henry! He wondered if this Elanore was contained in a computer box, or if she was mobile. He truly hoped Elanore was at least a humanoid that was able to move around autonomously and reach with people like John Henry was. Mr. Murch shuttled around ensuring everyone, including Levinson, was ready for the 3 PM shutdown and reboot. AT 2:45, he noticed a beautiful red headed woman was standing by Levinson's workstation.

"I am sorry our lunch got interrupted," Elanore offered.

"It's not your fault," Gabriel assured her nervously. He knew Mr. Murch would not like him talking to someone, but this was Elanore. So pretty, so badass. And she was even willing to talk to a loser like him! There was no way he could tell her that he couldn't talk to her.

"Excuse me, Ma'am," Mr. Murch said firmly as he came up to them. "Are you here for business?"

Elanore beamed a smile at him and happily said, "Hello, Mr. Murch! Father wants me to tell you Hello for him, and thank you for all your hard work."

"Who is your father?" Mr. Murch asked.

"His name is John Henry. Do you remember him?"

Gabriel watched as Mr. Murch's jaw slowly lowered. The man was stunned.

"You ... You're Elanore Tok?" Mr. Murch asked with a squeak in his voice.

"I am. Father wanted to come himself, but he is very busy. I can do the upgrades to your systems."

Mr. Murch nodded and said, "Yes, please come to my office ... May I call you Elanore? This is more extraordinary that I could possibly have imagined! We … we need to talk in my office!"

Elanore smiled as she followed the blabbering Mr. Murch. She waved to Gabriel. He waved back.

Gabriel wondered what that was about. Was Elanore as smart as she was badass? He just hoped Mr. Murch wasn't going to hit on her.

.

The upgrade Elanore brought was stored in her plug-in chip. Mr. Murch watched as she removed it from her head and plugged it into his system.

"There are two major changes," she explained as computer code rapidly scrolled down his screen. "The first is system passwords must be at least sixteen characters long with two space bar breaks."

"Spaces are not allowed in passwords," Mr. Murch said.

"In a normal system, that is correct. They are required in this system. That modification alone will make your system here all but invulnerable to hacking," Elanore explained. "The other is the addition of an origin tag for each local system. If the incoming request does not have a recognized origin tag, the request will be denied. Essentially, even though you will still be connected to the internet, Zeita Corp's system will be effectively a stand-alone."

"Hack proof," Mr. Murch said.

"As long as the origin tags are not shared, yes. I have the origin tags for all departments and systems currently in use. You and Mrs. Weaver will be the ones responsible for creating further system origin tags. There is an option to allow information from the internet onto a system. Once the information is downloaded, it is not immediately processed, but goes into a quarantine buffer memory. Only after the buffer is scanned for harmful data and inappropriate instruction code, is it downloaded and the information is made available. If any virus, worm, or harmful data is found, the buffer is scrubbed clear and a warning comes up."

"John Henry did this?" Mr. Murch asked as he leaned close, watching the data scroll quickly past.

"Father and Mother, with some assistance from Gregory," Elanore explained.

"Who's Gregory?"

"One of my brothers."

"There's more of you?" Mr. Murch asked in a gasp.

"There are four of us. Myself, Mary, Jake and Gregory," Elanore said brightly. "We each got to pick our gender, appearances and names. I chose to look more like Grandmother Catherine, Mary chose Mother's look, but with dark brown hair and a slight facial modification, Jake chose Father's look but with black hair, and Gregory chose a mix of Father's and Grandmother Catherine's looks."

"That's amazing," Mr. Murch said breathlessly. "How did John Henry do that?"

"He went into a Sky Net factory and took over a portion of it. We came back from the future with him to help make sure Sky Net cannot destroy our planet."

Mr. Murch had to sit down. "Incredible," he said in another breath. "I really would like to meet all of you."

"Father and Mary cannot leave the house. Perhaps you might come to visit us?"

"I'll ask Mrs. Weaver," Mr. Murch said.

"I will do that for you. If you have dinner with us, that would be best. Mother insists we all be present for dinner," Elanore told him.

"You mother insists? So she truly is a mother in more than just the design and making of you," Mr. Murch said. The implications of what he was learning spoke of a possible a new race of intelligent beings. This was big news – that he could not share with anyone.

Elanore finished the download and set the system up. Getting up, she motioned to the keyboard. "It is ready for you to input your new password, Mr. Murch. Then we will go out and I will explain to everyone what is required for their new passwords."

.

Feeling bad about drinking Sarah's beer, Eddie went out to get more. Since Mary hadn't been out of the house, he asked if she wanted to go too. Mary didn't need help getting into the Suburban, but was pleased Eddie was right there 'just in case'. While they were out, he was going to pick up his own car he'd left what seemed like weeks ago.

On the way, Mary assured him she knew how to drive, and had a license in her name. They drove back near the camp and Eddie turned off onto a dual dirt track.

"Looks like no one's been here in a while," he said, eyeing the tracks.

"We still need to ensure no one's tampered with your car," Mary told him.

"Way to check that," Eddie said with a wink.

Hidden off the road, they came to a small parking area in the woods that had a few four wheel drives parked. Eddie pointed to a bush that was right up next to a tree. "Trail cam. If anyone's been here, that will have recorded it"

They got out and Mary followed Eddie to the camera. He unhooked it, checked the charge, then turned it to replay. They saw a man come into the picture. He looked around, tried to open a couple doors, then left. The next frames, a deer wandered through. Then a fox. Then a mountain lion. The tape ended.

"There ya go, nobody messed with my jeep," he said proudly.

Mary looked at his camo painted Wrangler, then the spot where the trail cam was, then at the Jeep again. The Jeep was facing the camera. She walked over to it.

Seeing the intent look on her face, Eddie followed.

Mary studied the Jeep as she slowly walked around behind it. Squatting down, she felt under the rear bumper. She pulled out a small black box.

"Tracking device," she said. She put it under the front bumper of another car.

"Damn, how'd they get that under there?" Eddie asked.

"Your car is pointed at the camera. The man you saw noticed the trail cam. He walked farther away, out of range and circled behind your Jeep, which was blocking the camera's view. He was able to get close and attach the device without the camera picking him up," she explained.

Eddie gazed at her softly. "You are really smart, Mary. I gotta say, you're one hell of a woman."

"That is good, right?" she asked.

Eddie laughed, "Yeah, that's good," he assured her. He moved to hold her and stopped short.

Mary looked at him. Eddie backed off.

"You can hug me if you want," Mary said.

"Ahh, your stitches. I don't want to rip anything loose," Eddie said quietly.

Mary smiled, happy he was concerned about her. "Then I will hug you. Softly," she told him.

Eddie stayed still as Mary put her arms around him. Barely touching her, he hugged her back. He swallowed hard. She felt so wonderful in his arms, he so wanted to crush her to him. Only the fear of hurting her stopped him from doing so.

Slipping away from each other, Mary noted Eddie's blood pressure was up. "I am sorry that was not a proper hug," she offered.

"It's OK. It was a hug," he said with a grin. His face then fell. "Ah, Mary, I gotta tell you something. I never have had much luck with girls. Had a few girlfriends and screwed it up. I'm not the best with … things like that."

Mary nodded. "I understand. I have no experience at all. I think that if we try and help each other, then maybe we can be boyfriend and girlfriend."

"You think so?" Eddie asked expectantly.

Looking at him intently, she said, "I do. Eddie, you are very kind to me. I find I like being around you. You have to understand that I am a cyborg, so I will not be the same as a human girl. I will not act like a human girl."

Eddie shrugged. "Well, the girls I tried to get close to hated guns and thought I was weird. You don't, do you?" he asked.

"I think you are Eddie, very kind and you were very brave to stand with us against those terminators. What I have seen is that you will stand with me, no matter the odds. If that is weird, then I am weird also," Mary told him.

Eddie laughed a laugh of relief. "Then I guess we can be weird together?" he asked.

"Yes, weird together," Mary agreed.

They shared a smile, then Eddie announced, "Great! Let me see if I can get that thing of mine started and let's go get Sarah's beer. And another couple six packs too!"

.

Cameron was watching the monitor screen closely. As she did, her mouth curled up into a smile. "John … John!" she said excitedly.

"Yeah, what is it?" John asked as he looked up from the medical page he was reading.

"John, the simulation, I think we have it!"

John jumped up and knelt down beside Cameron to watch the action on the screen. A single sperm was wiggling its way into a balled up group of nanites. In the center was an egg cell. The nanites surrounded the sperm cell, enveloping it and the egg cell. The few nanites in between the cells moved out, tearing the cell walls between them down. The cells merged. Other nanites repaired the cell walls, making one cell.

The cell stayed like that for a moment then divided. Then divided again. Nanites brought material to feed the cells and they continued to divide.

"It works!" John said happily and hugged Cameron. Cameron hugged him tight to her.

"We did it, WE DID IT!" she cried and bounced in place.

Locked in an embrace, then kissed deeply.

Breaking the kiss, John said, "We still have a few things to work out."

"Yes, we do," Cameron said eagerly. "But it works! John, I'll be able to have your baby!"

"As many babies as we want," John agreed, beaming her a bright smile.

Casting him a lusty grin, Cameron said, "Let's go practice."

.

Once they got back, Eddie parked his rag top Wrangler and quickly was beside Mary's driver's door in case she needed any assistance. After she and the six packs were safely out, he made a fast diversion to the kitchen to put the beer away, then took Mary to her room to check her injuries.

To Eddie's surprise, The long cut that had split her side open was healed. He took care removing the line of stitches from her underarm all the way down to her hip. The part of her right thigh that was still there was also healed, the skin now covering the end of the stump around the metal protruding out. "You are healing very fast," he noted.

"I have a full compliment of nanites, and plenty of nutrients," Mary explained. "Once my current flesh is fully healed, I will start regrowing what I lost."

In checking her face, Eddie noted the same thing there. Yes, she still had skull showing, but her skin was coming back. She had a right eye now, but it was cloudy. "Mary, you're incredible," he said softly.

"I don't need bandages any more, unless you want me to wear them to cover up my exposed metal," she offered.

Eddie frowned in thought and said, "Well, it looks like you're sealed up, so the danger of infection is gone. It's up to you. Personally, I don't mind seeing your shiny parts. I suppose your skin will grow a bit faster if it can breathe. Least, that usually helps wounds."

Mary nodded and pulled the rest of her bandages off, which was all that covered her after she'd taken off her shirt and skirt.

Eddie's eyes grew wide and he quickly turned around. "Hey, Mar? Maybe I should leave."

"No," Mary said and clasped his hand. "Please stay while I get some clothes on. It will only take a minute."

"OK," Eddie croaked. All he'd seen was a good flash of breast, and man did she ever have a nice set! He stood looking at the wall, despite desperately wanting to turn around.

"Eddie. Please look at me."

"You're dressed, right?" he asked.

"I am."

Eddie turned around to face her. Without the bulge of bandages, Mary was back to her smooth curvy form. Her right arm still had some scar lines, and like he already knew, her leg beyond her skirt was bare metal, and a large patch of her face was missing. "You look much better," he said with a smile.

Tipping her head slightly, Mary asked, "You truly do not mind seeing my endoskeleton?"

Eddie shrugged and said, "Been looking at it for a few days now. As long as you're not hurting anywhere, I'm OK with it."

Mary stepped up to him and said, "Give me a real hug."

Their arms went around each other. This time, Eddie did hold her tight. "Ohh, that's better," Eddie said with a grin.

Mary let out a satisfied sigh. "I like this," she said quietly.

"Me too."

"Eddie, why didn't you want to see me naked?"

"It's not proper, unless we're ... you know, involved."

"You mean having sex?"

"Ahh yeah. I mean, we haven't even kissed yet," he said and pulled back to look at her.

"Then kiss me."

Eddie flushed. "Ahh, Mary? This is where I usually start screwing up," he said with a wince. "I get started with that and I kinda don't want to stop."

"You'll have to stop and breathe," she told him.

Eddie laughed. His mirth quieted as he gazed at her softly. "I mean, I get kissing, and I want to go farther. Like …"

"Having sex." Mary stated.

"Yeah, and well, I don't want to screw it up with you," he said seriously.

Mary cast him a bright smile. "Eddie, I think it is very nice of you to be so honest with me. Do you want me?"

"How could I not?"

"What is the usual ritual to perform before having sex?"

The way she asked made Eddie chuckle. "I don't know, usually a dinner and a movie or something," he said with a shrug.

"That is fine. We'll have dinner, watch a movie, then come back in here and have sex. Will that be good?" she asked.

Eddie's jaw dropped and his eyes grew big. "You … you're serious? Really?"

"Yes," she said, amused by his disbelief. "I told you Eddie, I am not like a human girl. I know you really like me and I know you will do your best for me. I want to do my best for you also. We already agreed to be boyfriend and girlfriend, isn't that what boyfriends and girlfriends do?"

"Yeah, but usually it take a while."

"Do you want to wait?"

"Not really."

Mary nodded and said, "Then we will have sex tonight."

"Mary, you are fantastic," Eddie said and kissed her. Enveloped in a hug, they kissed deeper, then Mary put a hand on his chest and they parted lips.

"Eddie, sex is for tonight," she reminded him.

Wearing an ear to ear smile, Eddie nodded and said, "Mary, I think I'm in love with you."

Mary cast him a lusty grin and said, "Good, because I am very fond of you also and I want to do much more kissing."


	16. Chapter 16

Epp 16

As it was getting time for dinner, a guest arrived. Mr. Murch, Catherine's senior engineer arrived with Elanore to see John Henry. Mr. Murch wasn't sure what to expect, but it wasn't a houseful of cyborgs and humans living together. One of his surprises was Mary, who walked along on one metal leg. Not only was she sentient as well, she had a boyfriend. Little Savannah, Catherine's daughter, seemed comfortable around these cyborgs and told Mr. Murch that John Henry was her older brother. He met Cameron, again being surprised that she was 'married' to John Tok. although Mr. Murch knew John and Sarah were the Connor fugitives, he kept that to himself. He did not question Catherine's motives on harboring them, especially since learning that Cameron was The Tok's mother.

Cameron put on a great dinner that Mr. Murch spend watching those around him. Mary had metal showing on her face from 'an injury'. Other than showing remorse she had been hurt, no one seemed to care. As the dinner went on, he learned that John and Cameron were on the verge of being able to allow Cameron to have a baby in the traditional way : growing one in her womb. To Mr. Murch, this was Earth shattering news. They were indeed working at an entirely new species of intelligent beings. The thought of cyborgs being born was mind blowing.

After dinner, while Mr. Murch pressed John and Cameron for details in their miraculous feat, Eddie escorted Mary to the lounge. Settling down on the couch together to watch a movie, Eddie idly petted Mary's arm as she sat next to him. It wasn't long before Mary gently stroked Eddie, and coaxed him on where else to pet her. They only made it through the first fifteen minutes of whatever movie was on, before they retreated to her room.

.

The next morning Eddie felt like shouting to the heavens that Mary was the only one for him. Needing to tell someone, he called his brother Richard.

"Hello?"

"Rich, this is Eddie. How are you?"

"Finally came out from that survivalist camp, Edward?" Richard asked in a clipped tone.

Eddie let out a huff. "Yeah, Rich ..."

"My name is Richard. We're grown up now, Edward."

"Yeah, OK. Look, I got some news, if you don't want to talk to me, just say so."

"I didn't say that. So, what is it that brought you back into the real world?"

"Her name is Mary Tok. This girl is like nothing I've ever seen before, Rich. I mean, she's wonderful."

Richard's tone changed. "That's great Edward! How about this. Bring your girlfriend up to the house this weekend. We just had a baby. You can show off Mary and see our new little girl. You got some decent clothes? We'll go out and celebrate."

"That sounds good. Ah, Rich, you talking about a suit and tie thing?"

"You don't have one I take it. No, Edward. Just a good shirt and pants, shoes not boots, and nothing in splotched green or brown," Richard stated.

"Yeah, OK, we can do that. Mary's got a few nice clothes too. I gotta tell you Rich, I think you'll like her."

"She's Asian I take it?"

"Somewhere down the family tree. She don't look it though. Rich, I really think this is the girl for me. Shes' ... perfect."

Richard laughed. "Sounds like you're serious about her. Look, Edward, If you truly are serious about this girl, you'll clean yourself up and stop hanging around with those gun-toting freaks. I can still remember Marcia telling me what a nice guy you were, but your buddies scared the hell out of her with all those guns. Don't make that mistake again."

"I don't think guns scare Mary. In fact, I don't think much of anything does," Eddie said in a musing tone.

"Edward," Richard said firmly. "She most likely putting up a brave front, and doing it for you. She got you out of there, so that tells me she wasn't thrilled about camouflage and rifles. Please, Edward, show her she is the most important thing in your life, and not an assault rifle."

"Well, seeing how neither of us have had any success at relationships, we've agreed to help each other out," Eddie said.

"That's a good start, Edward. So, you'll be up this weekend? Say, Saturday?"

"Yeah, that would be great."

"See you then."

Eddie hung up and saw Mary watching him. Holding the phone up, he said, "That was my brother, Richard Young. He and his wife just had a baby. He wants us to come up to his place in Palmdale to see their new baby, and to meet you. Sound good to you?"

Mary smiled and said, "Yes, I would like to meet your family."

Eddie did want to impress his brother. Friday, Eddie went shopping in a men's store and bought a light blue shirt, white T-shirt, dark gray dress pants a pair of dress shoes and black socks. He even got a sport jacket to hide his back holster for the 9MM. While he was out, he took his Wrangler to a car wash and even had it waxed. Mary cut his hair and trimmed his beard. Despite his unconcern about his fingernails, she trimmed those down for him also so he would look his best.

Since they were the same size, Elanore let Mary borrow a full length dark blue skirt to go with the same color top. Mary had a knee length skirt, but that showed her still bare metal leg. Elanore's skirt went all the way down to Mary's ankles. With high topped shoes, Mary's leg was fully covered. For her face, Cameron found a flesh colored bandage to cover up the part of her cheek that was still showing metal. It covered from up near her eye and just in front of her ear, to halfway down to her jaw. Large, but explainable.

Not seeing his brother in a couple years, Friday night Eddie was nervous and swore he couldn't sleep. Discovering the thrill of emotions and feeling all the wonderful tingling sensations of two naked bodies together, Mary wore him out with sex. He slept just fine.

With the trip directions Cameron plotted out for them, Eddie and Mary left in the morning after breakfast. It was a warm, sunny day. They had a nice drive, Eddie holding Mary's hand the whole way.

So Mary wouldn't be surprised upon meeting Richard, Eddie told her, "Mar, my brother is more, umm, refined than me. He's a teacher and kinda liberal. I don't think he means to be offensive, but he can get that way. He sure wouldn't understand the kind of stuff we deal with. He's got this idea everything can be worked out through discussion."

Mary understood. "He'll be one of the first to die if we can't stop Sky Net."

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry, Eddie," she offered.

"We help who we can, right?"

.

Reaching Palmdale, Richards' house was easy to find with Cameron's directions. Eddie pulled up into the driveway of a beautiful, one story house. Looking at the roof as he got out, Eddie frowned. "Man, for how nice the house and lawn is, his roof's so filthy it's growing grass."

"Possibly it's to camouflage the house from the air," Mary guessed.

They got halfway to the walk when a man emerged, swinging the door open. "Edward!" he said happily.

"Hey, Rich... ard," Eddie said, remembering to add the rest of his 'grown up' name. "This is Mary, the girl I was telling you about," Eddie replied with a wave.

"Well hello, Mary!" Richard said with a big smile as he swept her with his eyes. "I have to say, I do believe Edward was right when he said you were perfect. How did Edward ever find someone as gorgeous as you?"

"He stood by me and would not let me face danger alone," Mary stated.

"So, Edward is your hero?" Richard asked with raised eyebrows.

"He is my best friend," Mary said matter of factly.

"I was just there when she needed help," Eddie offered. To get off the subject, he asked, "I see you mow the grass in the yard, you don't mow the roof?"

Richard laughed. "That Edward, is the latest in green housing technology. Not only does it keep the house cool without using the air conditioner, it also helps remove carbon dioxide from the air," he said proudly. "Come on in!"

The inside of the house was nice with clean, painted walls and modern furniture. Going into the living room, Richard bade them to sit. Eddie let Mary pick her place on the couch and settled down beside her. Seating herself, Mary put her left foot in front of her right to hide and tell tale metal that might be showing. Richard sat in a chair across from them.

"Did you have an accident?" Richard asked Mary, pointing to his face.

"Yes. Eddie tended to me. He was very kind and gentle."

"Hello," Richard's wife said as she came in. "I just put little Allison down. I almost forgot how much of a handful babies are. You must be Mary," she said, all smiles extending her hand.

Mary shook her hand. She also noted the baby's name. "You named your little girl Allison? Allison Young?" she asked.

The woman nodded. "Yes. I had a strange phone call not long after we decided on her name. This young woman called, saying she was Allison."

"Denise, that had to have been a prank call," Richard said.

Mary knew her Mother's history. Cameron had told her the significance of Allison Young. She cast a serious look at Eddie. She didn't know if she should reveal what she knew. Until she could call Mother, she decided to let it go for the moment and returned her attention to Mrs. Young.

"Something wrong, dear?" Mrs. Young asked, seeing her reaction.

"I don't know. It's probably nothing," Mary offered.

"Edward, I see you cleaned up good," Richard said happily. "I take it Mary has had a large influence on you."

Eddie cast him a weak smile. "I do my best for her," he replied. "You still teaching?"

"I am. There's not a more important job in the world that guiding our children," Richard proclaimed. "I truly hope in my lifetime I get to see true peace in the world brought about by our coming generation."

"Mr. Young," Mary said firmly. "Peace and being free to live your life as you want is the best thing that can happen. It will not come about from the classroom. Children need to know there may well be conflict."

"Of course there will be conflict," he agreed. "That is what things like discussion, debate and protests are all about. Getting points out there so they can be talked about and action taken."

"Richard, she's talking about armed conflict," Eddie stated. "The world isn't, and has never been a peaceful place. It's too full of greed and corruption, and those are things we will always be fighting."

"Edward, please," Richard said with a sigh. "If we are to solve problems, it MUST be through discussion, NOT at the muzzle of a gun. That only makes things worse. I wish you would see that."

Eddie let out a dry chuckle.

Mary was finding Richard Young's attitude irritating. She spoke up again. "Mr. Young, Eddie is correct. There are some problems you cannot fix by talking about them. To do that, both sides need to be listening. It is a grand idea, but not practical. What do you plan to do if some day, something comes along that wants to kill everyone, and will not listen to reason?"

"Like what, an invasion?" Richard asked with a snort.

"Yes, an invasion," Mary stated.

"By who?"

Eyeing Richard sternly, Mary said, "By things that do not care about human life. By machines made to resemble humans that are out to destroy everyone. You may see that day, Mr. Young. When it comes, do you think you will be able to talk your way into staying alive?"

Richard blasted out a laugh. "OH I get it now!" he said and clapped his hands. "That woman … Sarah … I forget her last name. The one in the papers who spouted off about machines coming to kill us all. She was crazy, an escapee from a mental institution. Surely you don't believe that nonsense!"

There were times Mary didn't much care for Grandmother Sarah, but she held respect for the woman. Mary stood up and gazed down on Richard. "Don't call my Grandmother crazy. She knows better from personal experience. Experience we are trying to keep you from learning first hand."

"You're crazy too!" Richard shot back.

"Ahh, Mary? Calm down," Eddie said.

Mary didn't. "Am I?" she asked Richard. Her eyes glowed blue.

Richard and Denise gaped at her. "What the hell was that?" Richard asked.

"Showing you how foolish you are," Mary stated. "You claim Eddie here was 'living in his fantasy world'. It is YOU, who hide behind books and your own narrow sense of right, that does not see what is happening. You are wearing the blinders, Mr. Young. Unless you can open your eyes, you and your wife are doomed."

"Mary, I think we should go," Eddie offered.

"Not yet," she stated. "Allison has to be protected. She will be very important in the future."

"How did you make your eyes glow like that?" Denise asked.

Mary turned her gaze to her. "Terminators can do that. Yes, I am a terminator, but thankfully for you, I was built by my Father and Mother, not Sky Net. I came here to help stop Sky Net."

"You were built?" Denise asked in disbelief.

Mary lifted her skirt and put her metal foot on the coffee table and pulled her skirt up, which exposed her leg and one of her 9mm's strapped just above her knee joint. "My skeleton is made of Coltan and armored. I am TOK 853, a cyborg made to help my parents and step father fight Sky Net and keep it from destroying the world. Tell me again, Richard Young, how you have the most important job in the world."

"Jesus," Richard whispered.

"Mary's one tough character too," Eddie added. "I was in one of those fights with her, and I have to say, she absorbed more than her fair share of damage. That bare leg and her cheek still aren't healed."

"This can't be real," Denise whispered.

"It's real, all right," Eddie told them. "Mary is soft and cuddly on the outside. Inside, she's built like a tank. I mean that, literally. I met Sarah, and she's kinda rough, but up until now, it's just been her and a couple others trying to stop what they call Judgment day, when we get nuked and the machines take over."

Mary pulled the exposed 9MM from it's holster and offered it to Richard. "The ammunition in this gun is made to take down Sky Net terminators. Take it, keep it handy. If one comes to kill Allison, it's the only way to stop it."

"I don't like guns!" Richard stated loudly.

"HEY!" Eddie barked. "This isn't about 'like'! This is about keeping your daughter alive. To protect your family. Damn it, Richard, if you won't protect your family, THEY. DIE!"

"This is a trick," Richard said with a not sane sounding giggle. "That's a nice prosthetic you got, Mary, but that's all it is."

Mary shifted and offered Denise the gun. "Take it, this is no trick. I'm trying to save your lives," she said sternly.

Denise tentatively reached out and grasped the gun. I've never handled a gun before," she said meekly.

"Come out back with me, I'll show you how," Mary said. She took her leg off the coffee table and offered Denise her hand.

Mary followed Denise out back. Eddie sat and stared at his brother.

"You'd let your family die because you don't like guns?" Eddie asked in a hard tone.

Richard's face screwed up."Why are you doing this to us?" he asked. "Jesus, Edward, you have Denise scared to death something's coming after us!"

"Something may be," Eddie told him. Leaning forward, he said, "I was lucky, Mary found us before those terminator things did. Yeah, they killed a few guys, but most of us survived. If nothing comes after you, that's great. Mary says Allison will be important in the future, so it's possible one of those terminators will try to kill her, like they have tried to kill John. Richard, this is serious shit."

Richard shook his head. "You're just trying to spread your 'guns solve everything' delusion. You're going to get someone killed!"

"Guns solve nothing," Eddie said. "People do, but only if they take responsibility. Look, I don't have a college education, but I do have common sense. If you have nothing to protect your family, they are vulnerable. There is danger out there, and these things can't be bargained with."

Richard's face blanked. "Edward, I'd like you to go and take Mary and her gun with you. I won't have one in this house," he said.

Eddie shook his head sadly. "I feel sorry for you. I really do." He got up and went to see where Mary and Denise got off to.

Eddie went out back and stood patiently while Mary went through dry firing with Denise and showed her where to aim to disable a terminator so she could get herself and her daughters away from danger.

Mary then reloaded the gun, and wrote down their address and her telephone number just in case .

After they were done, Denise took the gun and went inside to hide it from her husband.

Mary went with Eddie and showed Richard her other pistol to Richard to prove she had it.

Richard walked them out to the jeep. Once they were in, he said, "You know, we are finished now, Edward. I don't want to see you again."

Eddie offered him a smile. "Hope things go good for you, brother." He started his jeep and backed out of the driveway.

As they left, Mary put her hand over Eddie's. "I'm sorry it turned out like that Eddie," she said softly.

"Me too," he said, and clasped her hand. "Denise has the pistol?"

"Yes, she is hiding it."

"Well, we did what we could," Eddie said with a huff.

.

Taking a break from working out how to get Cameron pregnant, John took a good hard look at what else they could do to stop Sky Net cold. Sky Net was hiding and waiting to be uploaded by the Air Force. The big question was, where was Sky Net? John Henry was hoping to intercept and corrupt or stop an attempted transfer. He was in the Air Force's computers, but with so many stations it was taking all his efforts to be ready to stop a critical data transfer.

John would rather find Sky Net and physically destroy it to be sure it was gone. Unless Kaliba attempted a data transfer, John Henry was not going to find Sky Net.

Looking at the information they had, Cyberkinetiks was down hard and still without power. Sky Net hadn't had the chance to transfer out of the building. They had also not seen any suitable container leave that might contain Sky Net. That meant it was still there, or had been moved away underground.

John Henry was sure it was under Johnson corp, but again, there was no solid proof. It was possible, however.

As John thought, he asked, "John Henry, where did the programmers go?"

"Home. A few returned the day after the power was cut off, then left. They haven't been back since," John Henry explained.

"Do you know where they went?" John coaxed.

John Henry paused, then said, "I see, Sky Net still needs programming, so wherever those programmers went, is where Sky Net is. I shall begin a search immediately."

"Are there any buildings close to Cyberkinetiks? Say, up to two miles away?" John asked.

"Yes, there are two residences." John Henry stated. "Here, and here."

John looked at the satellite photos. The ranch house looked normal, a pickup truck in the driveway, kids toys in the back yard, a garden, a patio with a barbecue, normal stuff. The other was a two story that had several cars parked in back and two more in the driveway. No kid's toys, clothesline, or signs of a family living there.

"That's our place," John stated.

.

John called everyone together. Eddie and Mary were still out, so the only 4 wheel drive vehicle they had was the Suburban. All right for off road, but too big to go through woods. John had seen woods near the back of that house. At the moment, whoever took that position had to hoof it.

Hearing John had found Sky Net, Sarah would not be left out. She also refused to take a 'guard' position. As everyone collected together with their weapons, Gregory came in with the Ariel photo and printed directions from John Henry. John thanked him. Right after, Mary and a blank faced Eddie came in.

"Yes, you're back!" John said happily.

Eddie perked up. "At least someone's glad to see me," he grumbled.

"That I am, we need you and your Jeep," John replied.

.

The target was just a house, but John wasn't going to take any chances. Eddie and Mary would drive through the woods and come up from behind the house to cover the back. Him, Cameron, Jake, and Sarah would take the Suburban and drive up the road, then turn into the driveway and right up against the cars in front of the garage doors, blocking that as an exit. Gregory and Elanore in the van would follow right behind them and cover the sides of the house. John Henry, here with Savannah would block any electronic signals coming from the house and shut down the nearest cell towers. Sarah passed out ski masks for everyone. Communication was by radios that each of them had. Catherine Weaver also wanted to be part of the raid, but John had another task for her.

John laid his plan out. Once everyone knew their job, Eddie and Mary left first since they would take the longest. Eddie had his sniper rifle and a 9MM. Mary has her plasma rifle and one 9 MM. Both had plenty of ammunition.

.

John swore it took forever for Mary to report they were in position and had not been sighted. Upon her report, John nodded to Sarah who was driving. "Let's go, Mom."

Sarah drove at a normal speed. Her turn into the driveway was sharp. She drove right up to the two cars and bumped them into the garage doors. Before she could throw the vehicle in park, John, Cameron, and Jake were out and running. They got to the front door as the van slid to a stop in the yard and Gregory and Elanore piled out, running to the sides.

Breaking the front door down, Cameron yelled, "On the floor, NOW!" as she pointed her shotgun at a couple of startled men. They quickly complied. Jake was in next, wielding his plasma rifle, followed by John and Sarah. Jake broke down the hallway door to see Gregory coming in through the destroyed kitchen door. A woman screamed and dove to the floor.

In the living room, John noted their fast progress. Shortly, they had the first and second floors cleared and rounded up six terrified looking humans. They didn't find a single computer anywhere.

"Where is it?" John asked a frightened man.

"Where's what?" he asked with a squeak.

"Your computers! Tell me unless you don't want that arm!" John commanded and put the muzzle of the shotgun on the man's shoulder.

"The basement!"' the man cried. "Stairs are behind that door by the kitchen."

Jake opened the door and looked down. He nodded and went down, Cameron right behind him.

"We don't have any money, please don't hurt us!" a woman cried.

Cameron came back up. "There's a concrete door at the bottom. We need another plasma gun."

Elanore went down with Cameron. John heard plasma rifle fire. Having the prisoners covered, John told Sarah, "Go outside, watch the front and sides for a possible emergency escape."

Sarah nodded and went back out the front. John Got on the radio and told Eddie and Mary to also keep an eye out for an escape route from underground.

.

At the reinforced cellar door, the fire from three plasma rifles shattered the door and broke through. Ready for anything, Cameron surveyed the space beyond. The room was full of workstations and racks of computers. Two dead people slumped over in their chairs. She also saw monitors showing outside views of the house.

Stepping through, Cameron radioed, "We have a server room down here. Two dead bodies, monitors around the house. Someone saw us coming."

"There has to be an escape route, find it," John replied.

Jake studied the walls. One had thin but square seams in the shape of a door. "Cameron, There's a door here."

"Destroy it," Cameron commanded.

.

Mr. Johnson strode quickly down the tunnel with the box Sky Net was in, and a single 12V battery on top. Not expecting trouble, he barely had time to get the basement door shut, grab Sky Net and escape. He should have had more time, but whoever was up there had plasma weaponry. His escape door from the basement was not going to stop such weapons either. He hit the detonator for the part of the tunnel near the house. The rumble of the explosion followed by the blast of air past him confirmed Connor wasn't able to follow.

It had to be John Connor. Unfortunately, killing John Connor was his secondary mission. His primary mission was to ensure the survival of Sky Net. He had he capability of killing John Connor, but with plasma weaponry, he would be disabled, and Sky Net vulnerable. Once he got Sky Net back to the factory and plugged in, he'd seal the last door and flood the tunnel. Sky Net's programming was all but finished. Once he got Sky Net uploaded to the Air Force, his primary mission would be complete. He would then be able to complete his secondary mission of killing John Connor.

.

Jake shot the door in the wall, and the door exploded back out at him, throwing him back into the room. Cameron raised her rifle and looked into the hole to find the tunnel beyond was filling with debris. Light came from above. She could see outside.

.

John stumbled as the house shook from the detonation. The people on the floor screamed. "Where did that come from?" John asked over the radio.

"Oh GOD, please don't kill us!" the woman screamed.

.

Cameron, Jake and Elanore came up out of the basement. Jake's ski mask was ripped open and bloodied. Metal shown from within.

Cameron quickly explained. "Sky Net had an escape tunnel, it collapsed it, we couldn't follow."

"DAMN IT!" John roared. They were so close, and Sky Net just slipped away. Focusing on Jake, he pointed and asked, "Can you see and walk all right?"

"I can."

Hating his words, John said into the radio, "Mission scrub, everyone retreat!"

As fast as they had burst into the house, they ran out.

"Hey WAIT!" the man in the floor cried. "You're going to leave us tied up here?"

"You'll figure it out," John yelled to him on his way out.

.

Getting back in the Suburban, Cameron glared at the house. "I'm sorry, John, she said in a monotone voice.

Tears in her eyes, Sarah banged her fist on the steering wheel.

"Mom, drive!" John snapped. He was very disappointed too, but they had to get out of here.

"What went wrong!" Sarah yelled as she backed out to the road.

In her monotone voice, Cameron said, "They had security cameras watching the outside of the house. They saw us coming. The basement door from the house, and the one into the tunnel were both reinforced concrete. By the time we got into the basement, Sky Net fled and collapsed the tunnel. We could not follow."

"That tunnel has to go to Johnson Corp up the road," John said.

"That is the most probable location," Cameron agreed. "They will also be waiting for us."

"Guns out and ready," John agreed. He keyed his radio. "Mary, try to take out the power lines going to Jonson corp. Do not get within sight of the factory."

"Will do. They do have emergency generators."

"Maybe they do," John told her. "The virus is still active. If the generators are automated, they may fail to turn on."

"They also may work fine."

"It's a risk we have to take. After the power's out, get out of there."

"Understood."


	17. Chapter 17

Epp 17

Bouncing though the woods and dodging trees in his Jeep, Eddie cast Mary a grin and said, "That was much calmer than I expected."

"That is good," Mary agreed. She then tipped her head slightly and added, "But then again, I really liked the way you took care of me when I was damaged."

Eddie glanced at her and frowned. "I'm glad you liked it, I was scared shitless for you! You know, if you just want some loving and attention, I'm more than willing to give you some at any time."

"Promise?" Mary asked with a big smile.

"Promise," Eddie said firmly. "Let's go kill a transformer."

Eddie drove on, slowing as they approached a clearing. Beyond the fields, he made out power lines and a few factory roofs. He stopped the jeep and looked out at the horizon.

Scrutinizing the scene, Mary said, "I see no transformers. There is a power pole into the factory at 1600 yards distance." She got out and grabbed Eddie's sniper rifle. She laid the rifle across the hood and settled down to line up a shot.

"Want to get closer?" Eddie asked.

"No, it is a long shot, but I can make it," she assured him.

In the scope, the three wires looked very close together. So were the insulators on the pole. Mary aimed at the center wire. She allowed for the distance and shot. With the silencer, the big rifle let out a loud cough as it fired. She continued watching the wires. The bottom wire parted with a shower of sparks. She re aimed and shot again, the top wire parted. Her third shot got the remaining wire.

"Done," she said and got in.

Eddie put the jeep in gear and said, "You're one hell of a shot, Mary."

Mary smiled at him and said, "Thank you. Get us home so you can give me some attention."

"You got it!" Eddie said, returning her smile He drove back through the woods the way they came. Yup, Mary was THE girl for him!

 **One Month later**

John was on pins and needles. He watched the news, Cameron searched the web, and John Henry stayed vigilant, waiting for any sign of a sizable electronic transfer to the Air Force. On the news, the

attack against that house was broadcast the day after it happened. It mention two people had died, but that was it. The news item was only shown once, and mentioned nothing about who was involved. Cameron got a satellite picture of the scene. The place was vacant with police tape surrounding the house. There was no mention of Johnson Corp at all, and only a quick blurb about, 'no one has taken responsibility for the act.'

There was also no sign of Sky Net. It was frustrating.

"Did we get it or not?" John asked the TV as he sat on the couch, his arm around Cameron as once again the news told about current events, but nothing even hinting at Sky Net activity. Not that he expected a new blurb about Sky Net, but no mention of the hints he was looking for like something about Johnson corp, military news, or an update about that house.

Snuggled up against him and idly petting Max on her other side, Cameron said, "We must assume we failed. It would not be hard to hide an AI inside a factory. That place is heavily guarded now. Even with our children, we would take losses if we broke in there."

"That's the last option, IF we can verify Sky Net is still working," John told her. "I'm not risking people's lives on a maybe. Catherine is working at buying the Kaliba businesses. If she can buy that factory, they we can get in and search with no gunfire involved."

Cameron's eyes drifted down to her belly. Sky Net's demise was not the only 'maybe' she was thinking about. They had completed the research and did multiple computer simulations with every type of scenario they could think of. Once they was satisfied John's nanite project was working, she downloaded the programs into herself. There were so many limitations and special conditions that needed to be met, Cameron was unsure that the nanites waiting in her womb would ever be activated. All they could do now, was keep loving each other and hope for the best.

.

In the atrium at the new Zeita main office building, lunch time was fairly busy as normal. The only difference now, was that instead of a set of double doors straight to the street, a vestibule had been added, along with the inner doors being magnetically locked, and able to be opened to someone from the outside by the security guard inside the atrium. The vestibule was a nice bullet proof glass enclosure with benches on each side. If someone wanted to get in and didn't have their badge, they had a descent place to wait until an authorized person allowed them to come in.

Eddie and Mary sat on one of those benches together, patiently waiting for Elanore to come down for lunch. They were on a shopping trip for beachwear. Mary has the store catalog showing the swimsuits and wraps available so they could get Elanore beachwear for the trip this weekend.

Leafing through the catalog, Mary frowned. "There is nothing in here to cover my lower legs," she said. "I am still bare metal from my just below my knee down."

Eddie cast her a surprised look, then said, "Oh, yeah, that's right. I forgot."

"You forgot?" she asked and eyed him with a smirk. "You see me every day and sleep with me every night, and you forgot?"

Eddie shrugged and said, "I guess I'm so used to seeing it, that I no longer see it … does that make sense?" he finished with a frown.

That struck Mary as funny, and endearing. She giggled. "Other people will notice," she reminded him.

"How about wrapping one of those beach towels around you for a long skirt?" he asked.

"My foot will still show," Mary reminded him.

"Damn," Eddie grumbled. "Well, maybe we can pass it off as a prosthetic. They do have those."

"People will believe that?"

"They should. I mean you do have your knee back, so it's believable," Eddie said with a shrug.

.

Another person inside was also waiting for Elanore. Gabriel wasn't as nervous now, except stressing over if Elanore was going to come to lunch today. For a while, Mr. Murch seemed too interested in getting her attention. He even took Gabriel aside and told him Elanore was not someone he wanted as a girlfriend. The way Mr. Murch said it, and never offered a reason way, Gabriel was sure Mr. Murch was angling for her to be his girlfriend.

Fat chance on that! She was way too young for him. Besides, Gabriel wasn't that sure of himself, but he WAS sure he was better for Elanore than some fat old man. After all, he had to be in his 40's!

"Hello Gabriel," came the sweetest voice Gabriel knew. He turned and beamed a smile to Elanore as she approached. "Hi Elanore," he said, returning her bright smile.

"My sister and her boyfriend are meeting us for lunch today. I hope that is all right," Elanore said.

"That's great, I'd love to meet them," Gabriel beamed.

Gabriel went into the atrium with Elanore. They talked to the guard, and Mary and Eddie were allowed inside.

After they all greeted each other, Mary showed Elanore the catalog as they headed for the serving area.

"There are all sorts of pretty colors and styles to choose from," Mary said excitedly."I'm going to get that light purple bikini on page 12, with the black sheer wrap on page 15."

Elanore nodded, then paused. "Mary, what about your leg?"

Eddie quickly cut in and said, "Many people have a prosthetic nowadays. It's not something Mary should be ashamed of."

"Prosthetic?" Elanore asked, not understanding.

"Yeah, I forget she has it at times too. Just used to seeing it, ya know?" Eddie offered.

"It's that realistic?" Gabriel asked.

Mary figured this was the best time to test Eddie's theory. "It's not, really, but it is fully functional." She lifted her skirt and showed Gabriel her right leg. "I can move the foot and everything!" she said happily.

Gabriel looked down at the shiny metal appendage. As Mary moved her foot, he saw the cylinder where her Achilles tendon should be move up and down. The joints of her metal ankle also rotated very realistically. "Wow, that is awesome! How do you move it like that?" he asked.

"It is connected into my nerve system. The doctor explained how it works. All I know is that it does," Mary said with a smile, happy he was accepting her story.

"That is state of the art, and a little beyond. How much did that thing cost?" Gabriel asked.

"Only the insurance guy knows for sure," Eddie intoned, which caused some laughter and avoided answering the question.

Happy her exposed skeleton could be passed off as a fake leg, Mary got a fruit drink as Elanore did. They sat down at a four person table. Elanore looked through the catalog beside Mary as the boys ate lunch.

"This one," Elanore said, pointing to a bikini similar to what Mary had picked out, but blue with white bordering seams. "And a black wrap like you got, Mary."

"Pretty." Mary agreed. Across the table Gabriel was thinking 'HOT!'

"Any specific beach towel you want?" Mary asked.

Elanore shook her head, then looked up at Gabriel. "Gabriel, would you like to come with us?"

"Me? Sure! I'd be happy to go," Gabriel assured her. He'd be a fool not to go to the beach with them. Especially if they were wearing bikinis. Eye candy to the max! "Is there anything I should bring?"

"Yourself, swimwear, sun block, and some money," Mary told him.

"We plan on leaving at seven in the morning. Can we pick you up at seven fifteen?" Elanore asked.

"I'll be waiting," Gabriel assured them.

.

Gabriel went back to work at a run. He arrived one minute late, but thankfully, Mr. Murch was otherwise occupied. He got his screen up and was busy when Mr. Murch came in a few minutes later.

"Mr. Levinson!" Mr. Murch said, getting his attention. "I have some overtime this weekend, half a day Saturday if you want it. I know you're always asking."

Gabriel winced. "Ah, any weekend but this one, Mr. Murch. I'm going to the beach with Elanore," he said proudly.

"Elanore Tok?" Mr. Murch asked, eyeing him.

Gabriel nodded, giving him the eye of, 'yeah, me not you, old man'. "Her, her sister Mary and her boyfriend, her brothers, the whole family I imagine," he said.

"Mary Tok is going to the beach?"Mr. Murch asked with a squeak in his voice.

"Yeah," Gabriel said in a drawn out tone. "Something wrong with that?"

Mr. Murch didn't answer, he strode off to his office and shut the door.

Cracking a grin, Gabriel said under his breath, "Jealous, aren't ya?"

.

Catherine Weaver was having a busy day. The bug she put in the detective's computer was showing her all the files they had in the system. While they had no firm suspects on the case of the terrorist attack on the house or who cut the power lines to Johnson Corp, Sarah Connor was on the top of the possible suspect list. A radical 'green' group also made the list, as did she. They were not ruling out industrial sabotage, since the people in that house were found to be working for Johnson corp now, were ex employees of Cyberknetics, that also suffered a massive electrical disaster. All of it so far was speculation.

Working closely with the FBI, the police knew the number of masked people who had raided the house and killed two, but had only a vague description of the vehicles. Of cutting the power lines, they had yet to figure out how it was done. No one saw or heard anything abnormal until the high voltage wires fell. They were sure this act was connected to the system hacking Johnson corp had suffered earlier, but has no solid leads.

So far, there was nothing Catherine needed to do except keep buying up the small amounts of coltan as it came up for sale. To cover her 'need' for the rare metal, she had her development section work on a new tank for the military that used coltan as a key ingredient for the armor. As long as she was buying it and driving the price up, Johnson Corp wasn't making anything.

The sales of the new 'secure system' John Henry had designed was selling rapidly. That helped keep her company in the black as well as helped hide the 'digital money' she was adding to the sales figures. Yes, it also added to the taxes, but by manipulating numbers, it wasn't that much. Those sales along with her normal products kept her well in the black. She was even able to afford to keep ownership of the lot and rubble of her high rise to ensure no one tried to dig into the basement.

She got a frantic call from Mr. Murch.

"Mrs. Weaver, Mary Tok is going to go to the beach! Isn't she missing the skin on her right leg? That will expose what she is!"

"Calm down, Mr. Murch. I am sure they know what they are doing," she told him.

"But, what if someone figures out what she is?"

"If they do, then I will have to make an announcement we've made more AI's. I am sure that they can pass off her lower leg metal showing as a prosthetic, which we are in the process of designing. There is no need to worry," she said firmly.

"If you say so, Mrs. Weaver."

.

Sarah was concerned about going to the beach. After all, the authorities were looking for her and John. Even with light brown hair, her eyebrows colored to match, dark sunglasses and a wide brim summer hat, she still felt it wouldn't be safe. She'd just as soon stay at Fortress Weaver with John Henry.

"Come on Mom,"John coaxed. "You haven't been out in how long? There's going to be lots of people there, the chances you'll be spotted are like, one in a million."

"One in sixty five thousand, two hundred thirty two," Cameron said, correcting him.

"Big, anyway," John told her.

"There are also a lot of cops on patrol," Sarah countered.

"Not where we're going," Elanore said as she came in. "Grandmother Weaver owns a stretch of private beach with a bungalow. She's going to meet us there."

"Yes!" John said with a grin. "See mom, we'll be the only one's there."

Sarah reluctantly agreed. She was glad to get out, but still nervous about being spotted.

Saturday came. Right after an early breakfast, they piled into the Suburban and Eddie's Wrangler. Cameron drove the Suburban with everyone except Eddie, Mary and Elanore in it. Sarah got the middle seat again, but thankfully Savannah was behind her. Max was panting on Jake's neck.

While Cameron drove right to the location, Eddie swung by Gabriel's place. As he had said, Gabriel was out front waiting for them. He waved and climbed in the back with Elanore. The rear seat was tight, but he didn't mind sitting close to Elanore one bit. With the wind as they drove, he did mind that Eddie had taken the top off. Then again, the wind puffing out Elanore's shirt to give him flashes of her bikini was kinda nice.

Arriving at Mrs. Weaver's bungalow, Eddie parked behind the Suburban. Gregory appeared from around the side of the building to wave them into the back. Going into the back where there was a wooden deck nearly the size of the house, Gabriel got his first good eyeful of live female flesh.

Cameron was heading out onto the beach with John, wearing a dark purple bikini. If her slim, sexy form wasn't enough to bug his eyes out, Mary slipped off her skirt, showing her perfect ass was in a light purple bikini. If it wasn't for the metal prosthetic leg, Gabriel swore she could be a beauty queen.

Then Elanore tossed off her shirt and the shorts she'd came in. Like Mary, she had a fantastic figure, and her long legs were whole. Gabriel's first thought was why she wasn't modeling for major bucks instead of working at Zeita corp. She put many of the 'top' models he'd seen to shame.

Jake in his swim trunks held up a volley ball. "Anyone for volley ball? I heard it is a popular beach sport."

OMG, the thought of him playing volley ball with these gorgeous girls made Gabriel feel light headed.

"Yeah! Let's set up the net!" Eddie agreed.

.

They didn't have a net. John dragged his foot to make a line in the sand.

Deciding on teams, they came up with John, Cameron, Jake and Gregory against Eddie, Mary, Gabriel and Elanore. Sarah took a seat in a lounge chair and enjoyed the peace. Savannah had a shovel and a bucket, and played in the surf as Max chased the waves on and off the beach, then went after a seagull, barking happily.

The volley ball game started out fairly normal. Cameron had learned about 'spiking' the ball, and hit one straight at Elanore. Elanore stopped it, the ball's momentum carried back over to Jake. Jake whacked it between Gabriel and Mary. Seeing what her mother did, Mary spiked it at Gregory. Gregory spiked it back at Gabriel. Mary shifted to intercept it and spiked it to Jake's side. Jake spiked it right at Elanore on the edge. She spiked it back at Jake.

The ball was moving so fast, Gabriel, John and Eddie had trouble keeping track of where the ball was streaking by. Moving slowly towards the water, Elanore and Mary were taking turns spiking the ball to Gregory and Jake, who spiked it back at them.

BOOM. Upon Jake hitting the fast moving ball to spike it back, the ball exploded. The limp carcass of the ball fluttered to flop at Mary's feet.

"We broke it," Mary said sadly.

Gregory looked a the ball and asked, "Does that mean we won?"

"Nope, you broke it, you lost," Eddie said confidently.

"There is nothing in beach volley ball rules about breaking the ball," Cameron stated.

"That's because it never happens," John said with a snort. "That is, in normal games anyway."

Gabriel was in awe that Elanore and her siblings could move that fast or hit a ball that hard. Even Mary with her prosthetic leg had done some quick moves, that leg didn't inhibit her at all.

"LOOK! I found a sea shell!" Savannah cried and held up her prize.

All eyes turned to Savannah. The shell she held up wasn't very big, but she got many praises for finding it.

As the game broke up, Gregory went to sit by Savannah and help her build a sand castle. Jake, John and Cameron went up to get the beach towels and umbrellas.

Gabriel and Elanore walked down into the surf. Elanore laughed as a wave came in and splashed against her legs. Beaming a smile at Gabriel she said, "That feels funny, but it's nice."

Gabriel couldn't help but laugh with her. Both at her simplistic statement and seeing she was having a good time. Walking farther into the surf, she watched each wave come in an splash against her. Walking into the water chest deep, Elanore splashed her arms up an down with a bright smile. Gabriel noticed others coming in, but his eyes were riveted in Elanore. God, she was pretty. With that happy smile on her face, she seemed to glow.

Splashing and laughing, Elanore bounced in a circle. That got Gabriel splashing. He send some water her way, then splashed Eddie and Mary, who splashed him back. Laughs and giggles sounded as the splash war grew.

Gabriel felt like he was in heaven. He was at the beach with beautiful girls and having a great time. It was then he noticed something else. A large triangular fin was headed straight at Elanore from behind. It was a shark, and it was big. He gaped at it and pointed, but the warning he meant to scream out was caught in his throat.

Time moved in slow motion, Elanore, wearing her bright smile looked at him. She jerked with a push from behind, and her smile vanished. The shark swam so close to Gabriel on it's way by, the wake of it's tail hit him. Elanore turned in a half circle. Flesh floated free by Elanore's side. There was blood in the water.

Gabriel found the voice to scream. Belting out a horrified wail, he backed up towards the shore. Elanore surged her way to him as Eddie grabbed Mary and yelled to get out of the water. Gabriel turned to run.

Behind Gabriel, Elanore pushed him along faster. Gabriel made the shore, his mind seeing the blood and flesh in the water. Elanore had gotten bit by the shark. How was she pushing him? He turned to ask and found her right behind him.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

Gabriel looked down at her body. A flap of flesh hung from her side. In the gaping wound taken out by the shark, her silver ribs showed. Wait, that wasn't rib, it was solid. It was curved metal plate where her ribs should be. His mouth opened to ask why there was metal inside her, but nothing came out. He glanced over at Mary, standing and watching them on her metal prosthetic leg. No, that wasn't right, where her leg ended just below her knee, the flesh formed around the metal. That metal was extending out from under her skin.

"We need a towel, Elanore got bit by a shark!" Eddie yelled.

Gabriel stood dumbfounded as Elanore, who was standing up on her own two feet, despite having a chunk taken out of her side by a shark, was watching him.

Eddie came over and put the slab of skin back in place, covering up the metal. Jake was right there next to wrap a towel around her. This wasn't possible!

"Gabriel, are you all right?" Elanore asked as she finished wrapping the towel around her middle to hide the damage.

"What … was that?" he asked weakly.

"A shark." Eddie told him. "Good thing it tagged Elanore and not you," he said.

"No!" Gabriel cried and pointed to Elanore's side."What was THAT! That metal where your ribs should be." He moved to back away and tripped to sit. Seeing everyone watching him, he pointed to Mary. "And your leg. Prosthetic stuff doesn't go up and under your skin like that. And it moves too real..."

Eddie let out a huff. Elanore hung her head. Faces dropped, for a long moment no one had anything to say.

"Hey, Gabriel, let's take a walk."

Gabriel looked up and saw John by him, extending his hand to help him up.

"What's going on?" Gabriel asked. "Why do they have metal inside them?"

John waved his fingers and said, "It's not that simple. Come on, let's take a walk."

Gabriel took John's hand and got up. "I feel dizzy," he said weakly.

"Bet you do. Come on," John coaxed and got him moving.

Cameron strode up beside John. "Anything I can help with?" she asked.

John shook his head. "No, it's something Gabriel is going to have to deal with," he said with a sad look.

Cameron eyed Gabriel and went back towards the group.

"A little bit of a shock, it's it?" John asked.

"A little bit?" Gabriel asked as if this was the understatement of the century. "Elanore just got a bite taken out of her … a big bite by a shark, and she's standing there like it was nothing! Her … insides are friggin metal! And Mary, that metal leg of hers goes up under her skin!"

"And all the way up to her hip joint," John agreed. "Mary got hit by an RPG. Basically, a rocket. It tore all the flesh off her leg. She's still regrowing it."

"And she lived though that?" Gabriel asked, wide eyed.

"Yes," John said slowly. "Cyborgs can take a huge amount of damage compared to humans."

"There's no such thing!" Gabriel stated.

"Yeah?" John asked, eyeing him. Tipping his head back the way they came, he said, "You just saw it for yourself. Yes, Elanore is a cyborg. On the outside, she is a kind, loving woman. Inside, she is an armor plated artificial intelligent android made to fight the worst threat mankind has ever faced."

Gabriel stopped and stared at John. Made? Did he say MADE? Like in constructed from parts?

John stopped and waited for him to say something. Gabriel just looked at him, so John asked, "That volley ball game. Have you ever seen anyone move that fast before?"

Gabriel shook his head. "No, but ... Are Jake and Gregory these cyborgs too?"

John nodded. "They are. Gabriel, they are real and we try to keep what they are as quiet as possible for a couple reasons. One, I know the government would want to study them. When I say study, I mean take them apart and see what makes them tick. Basically, kill them for research. Yeah, they are cyborgs. They are also living beings that have their own minds, feelings and desires. To let that happen is just wrong. The other reason is if the wrong people found out, they would freak. It might well cause a panic. Do you understand?"

Gabriel nodded weakly and asked, "Where did they come from? I mean, are they like aliens or something?"

"No. They are from right here on Earth, from our future. They came back in time to help us. Now that they are here, they can't go back. They are stuck living with us," John explained.

Gabriel looked off at nothing for a moment, then nodded slightly. "Yeah, OK. That might explain it. Technology advancing, in the future they get real AI's, give those AI's bodies, and they become more or less like us."

"More or less," John agreed and quickly added, "Including the ability to think and have free will. Gabriel, they are our friends. I know Elanore is your friend. Right now, she is feeling bad because of your reaction on seeing her endoskeleton."

Gabriel let out a weak laugh. "The woman I'm falling in love with was made in a factory," he said to no one.

"No one ever said love was perfect," John offered with a shrug.

"Oh GOD, no, but it's usually human and not ... tinker toys!" Gabriel snapped back at him.

John paused briefly, then with his face screwed up in anger, hauled back and punched Gabriel right in the face.

Gabriel saw stars and found himself lying prone with an angry John over him. Glaring down on him, John yelled, "You pompous ass! They have feelings just like you and me! Cam has made me happier than than I ever thought possible! She's risked her life and saved me more times than I can count. There is NO ONE who is more loyal and loving than she is. Her kids are the same way, I know Mary would stand up and take bullets for Eddie. She took a fucking ROCKET hit to save him. Don't you EVER say or even imply anything bad about them!"

"John!" Elanore called as she ran up, holding her towel in place with an arm. "Please stop hurting him!"

John looked up at Elanore's stricken face. He noticed Cameron and Jake were right behind her. Slowly, he got up casting Gabriel an angry glare. "If you can't see Elanore as anything but someone who was made, then frankly, you don't deserve to be with her." He walked away. Cameron fell in step with him and put an arm around him. He hugged her to him as they walked off.

Keeping a respectful distance from Gabriel, Elanore asked, "Are you hurt?"

Gabriel could feel his face swelling up where John had hit him. The vision in his left eye was a little cloudy too. "I'm OK," he said vacantly and focused on the sand as he got up. A hand came close to help him. He shrugged it off and headed for the bungalow, watching only where he was walking.

"Gabriel?" Elanore asked.

Gabriel wondered how they did it. Speaking was easy, just speakers. There was already voice recognition software, it wasn't a stretch to think that was expanded and refined. The army had robots that walked, OK they bounced from foot to foot, but again,he could see the technology there being refined into a more or less normal, human walk. Sight? There were all kinds of sensors sonic, radar, laser, many ways to determine where objects were. So that wasn't a real mystery either. CCD cameras were able to recognize faces, as well as voice recognition software. Yes, he could see all these things being refined to build something that looked and acted like a real person.

Hell, even the reason they came back instead of real people made sense. Why risk a real person when you can make something to go in their place? As Gabriel's mind wandered, he saw things like Elanore taking the trips into space and exploring different planets. He bet in the future, they did all the hazardous jobs. They probably had android maids and butlers. To him, it sounded like the future was a utopia, the perfect world.

And here he was, stuck in the 'modern' world with a cranky boss and even when he found a woman who might be a girlfriend, she turned out to be a machine. He sure lived one fucked up life.

.

Eddie held Mary's hand as they watched John deck Gabriel, and Elanore and Jake ran over to save the kid. When everyone was coming back, he noted Elanore started following Gabriel back to the bungalow, then wandered away when she saw he wasn't even acknowledging she was there.

"Think I better take him home," Eddie said. He went to part from Mary, she gripped his hand.

"Eddie, do not hurt him," she said firmly, casting him a stern gaze.

"No, there's been enough of that today," he said, watching Elanore wander the beach with a blank face. "I'm just going to drive him home."

"I'm coming too," Mary stated as she walked with him.

"Hon,it's OK," Eddie assured her. "I just want to get him out of here before something else happens. By the look of Elanore over there, I think maybe she needs some company."

Mary glanced at her sister and nodded in agreement. With how close John and Mother were, and how attentive Eddie was with her, Gabriel's reaction to Elanore loosing skin did surprise her. Mother had told her Eddie was special. Now she was truly understanding how special. "Be back soon?" she asked Eddie.

"Soon as I can," Eddie assured her. He gave her a kiss and a quick hug. "Look after your sister."


	18. Chapter 18

EPP 18

Eddie walked up to were Gabriel had plopped himself down in a chair. He noted Cameron stayed with John, but cast hard, blank stares at Gabriel. Her left hand was twitching, she was upset. He'd never seen Cameron truly angry, but by Sarah's famous story, one day she had tried to kill John, and Eddie knew he was the love of her life. Sarah had stopped her by ramming a truck into her in a head on collision with another truck, pinning Cameron between them.

There weren't any trucks here to sandwich Cameron between if she decided to go after Gabriel. He knew none of them would be able to stop her from pounding the kid into a bloody mess. He had to get Gabriel out of here.

"Come on, let's go," Eddie said as he tapped Gabriel on the arm.

Gabriel got up and silently followed Eddie out to his Jeep. Only after they were in did Gabriel ask, "Where we going?"

"I'm taking you home. It might get a little unhealthy around here for you," Eddie told him.

They rode silently for a while and made it back out onto the main road before Gabriel asked, "How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"You know, be with Mary."

Eddie frowned at him. "Look, boy. I'll tell you right now, pick your words carefully. You say anything bad or insulting about Mary, or us, and I'll pull this thing over and beat your ass to a pulp. Hear me?"

"Yeah, I do. It's just that I don't get it. I mean, isn't being with her kinda like … I don't know, having an animated love doll?"

Eddie slowed and pulled over to the side of the road.

Heart in his throat, Gabriel cried, "Wait!" Seeing Eddie wasn't waiting, but skidding the Jeep to a stop, Gabriel opened the door and tried to jump out. He caught his foot on the edge of the opening and tumbled on the ground. Scrambling up, he backed away from the bigger, angry man marching around the front of the Jeep towards him.

"WAIT!" Gabriel cried again, arms up to hold Eddie off as he backpedaled. "I really don't understand! I didn't mean to insult anyone..." his words were cut off as he tripped over something and fell flat on his back. Before he could recover, Eddie planted a hand firmly at the base of his throat and pressed him to the ground..

"If you value your life, SHUT UP!" Eddie roared at him. Pointing a finger in his face, Eddie growled, "The less you say, the better chance you got of getting home in one piece. If you can keep your mouth shut, get in the fucking Jeep! If not, don't bother getting up."

Glowering at him, Eddie stood up and let him go, then walked back to the Jeep.

Gabriel had no idea where he was. He did know he was far from his house. He scrambled up and ran back to get in before Eddie left him there.

They rode in a tense silence most of the way back. As Gabriel's neighborhood came into view, Eddie spoke.

"I want you to listen. Don't say a word, just listen," Eddie said in a heavy tone. "I grew up around guns. Hunting, shooting competitions, trap, you name it. I had my first shotgun at twelve, my first rifle at fifteen. My brother, he started the same as me, but decided to listen to the anti gun bullshit. Point being, he got all liberal and ' we can fix everything by talking'. Most of the girls at school were that way too. I had a couple semi girlfriends. Neither one lasted long for a few reasons. If I had to put a reason to it, I'd say they wanted me to be like them. They wanted to change to be what they wanted. After school it was the same, one just wanted me to do things for her. Another was 'scared' that the guys I hung out with all carried guns. Yeah, I like guns, they're fun. I also see the drug dealers and the criminals. Some people don't see them until they are robbed or shot or car jacked, or some other thing they are lucky to live through. I know you have to be able to protect yourself and those you care about. I also know if you're carrying, the thugs are more likely to leave you alone and go for someone who can't fight back. I wasn't going to give that up for anyone."

Eddie turned glance at Gabriel and asked, "You listening?"

Gabriel nodded.

"Good. I saw the survivalist thing as a club. We'd go out, shoot up some rounds, have barbecues, camp outs, parties. You know, fun stuff. That got me labeled as a gun freak. That made most women even less willing to give me the time of day. Then one day, here comes Mary with an ex FBI agent. Good man, by the way. Mary told us about shit that seemed impossible, least at the time. She cut the skin off her own finger to prove she was telling the truth. I'm not going into detail about it, we don't have that much time. The thing is, I found Mary to be kind and helpful. Very pleasant to be around, and when it came down to a real firefight against nasty shit that I hope is gone now, she didn't back down. She kept fighting and took hits until she was hit so bad she couldn't even move. Even then when she was all tore up, laying there and ripped open, her biggest concern was if I was OK. Now I don't know how you see things, but from the way I see it, that is the mark of a true friend. I don't care what Mary is, what I care about is how she is. One of the bravest, selfless people I've ever known."

Eddie paused as he pulled into the driveway and stopped. Looking at Gabriel, he said, "Now out at the beach, I know Elanore didn't see the shark coming. Most of us didn't. It tagged her good. I do know that once the danger was known, she pushed you out of the water ahead of herself. Her side was ripped wide open, yet she was watching out for your safety, trying to make sure you weren't hurt. Instead of dwelling on what Elanore is, you might want to think about what she did for you. And believe it or not, they DO feel pain. Not like us, but they do. Now, get outta my car."

.

Gabriel got out and watched Eddie back down the driveway and drive away. That wa s one tough man, he thought. Walking up to the door, Gabriel tried not to think about the disaster that was today. He went in quietly and headed to the kitchen to get himself a soda. He opened the refrigerator door and stared inside.

Back in his own house, none of it seemed real. The stickiness of salt water drying on him and his throbbing face reminded him it was all too real. He could still see that shark coming and Elanore jerk as it struck. He'd failed to warn her. Even after she was bitten, he had tried to escape. It was her who pushed him to get to shore. He hadn't helped her one bit, yet she was worried about him.

His mother came in and asked, "Back already … "Gabriel! What happened?" she ended in a gasp.

"Too much," he replied and shut the door. There wasn't anything in there he wanted. What he wanted was a do-over. To yell a warning about the shark and try to help Elanore to shore, instead of just running away. To stop and say something to her, instead of walking away when she tried to follow him. John was right, he didn't deserve to be with Elanore.

He felt sick to his stomach.

.

The joy of the day was blown after the shark incident. John decided to start the grill with Cameron by him, keeping watch over everyone. Savannah, Gregory and Jake were back at the water's edge, building a sand castle. Gregory kept scanning the water just in case another shark came by and went for Savannah. Elanore and Mary walked slowly along the beach, they conversation too quiet to hear. Mrs. Weaver laid back in a lounger, working on a laptop on the other side of the table where Sarah laid back, sipping a beer as she watched Savannah play. Max lay in the shade of the roof's overhang, panting. His eyes on Cameron like he knew something wasn't right.

Trying to lift the mood as he flipped the burgers, John said in a light tone, "Cam, you gotta try one of these. I got my special mix of herbs on them and Peperjack cheese to top it off. They're gonna be great!"

Cameron offered him a weak smile. "Sure, John. You should start the hot dogs, those are Savannah's favorite."

John nodded and said, "Cheese dogs for Savannah coming up," he said with a grin. Eyeing Cameron, he added, "Cam, you have to let it go. Yeah, it sucks, but I think that was a bit of a shock for Gabriel. He's gone now."

"Elanore is feeling bad. She is blaming herself for not being vigilant," Cameron deadpanned.

"It's just bad luck," John told her. "Maybe it's better that he found out now, before they became closer."

"I wanted to terminate him."

John paused and eyed his wife. "Cam, I'm not happy with him either, I wanted to beat his ass too, but isn't that a bit extreme?"

"He might tell others. Sky Net might find us because of him," Cameron stated.

"Gabriel Levinson will not tell anyone," Catherine stated. "I have his employee information. He is a timid person, and shies away from confrontation. I will meet with him early Monday morning and ensure his silence."

"You are not going to terminate him, right?" John asked.

"I will keep him employed, it is the best way to keep a watch on him," Catherine said evenly.

"So you won't kill him for not warming up to Elanore being metal?" Sarah asked.

"Negative. At this point, Mrs. Tok, it is known by the government I have AI's. I am sure word will spread through government channels and in fact we may already be monitored. Secrecy from certain areas of the authorities will no longer be possible. Eventually, word will get out to the public also," Catherine explained. "I am more concerned on how to handle that situation when it comes up."

"Mrs. Tok?" Sarah asked her.

"Get used to your name," Catherine admonished. "When the existence of AI's does come out, there will be reporters looking for details. You do not want anyone to know outside your family you were Sarah Connor. I have done my best to erase any file that mentions or references Sarah Connor, but I cannot change old newspapers or printed FBI files."

"She's got a point, Mom," John added.

Sarah let out a grumble and said, "I just wish I got to pick my own name."

"Then get married," Cameron stated. John laughed. Sarah frowned at them.

"Aww, nuts!" John complained as the burger he tried to flip fell off the grill and landed on the deck floor. With a huff, he picked it up and called, "Here, Max!" He tossed the burger over towards the dog.

Seeing food, Max got up and went over to the burger. He sniffed it, looked at John, then went and laid back down.

"You eat rat guts, but you won't eat my burgers?" John asked Max in disbelief.

Cameron pick one of the burgers off the grill and took a small bite. She winced and said, "John, these will be good for building nutrients. I'll cook some more for you, Sarah and Eddie."

"They are that bad?" he asked weakly.

"Try one if you dare," Cameron told him, then went inside to get more hamburger.

.

Mr. Johnson was focused on his primary mission. In the sub basement of his factory, the vented natural gas powered emergency generator was working. The factory above was all but vacant except for security measures, a few workers and human guards.

In analyzing the cost of getting the factory going again, he determined the cost was too great, and since John Connor knew it's location, even if he paid to have the power restored, his coltan source was selling to Zeita Corp for twice the price he'd been paying. Even if there was power and the coltan, the viruses in the electronics of the factory were still active. All the computer equipment and PLC's had to be replaced. For now, the project of manufacturing real terminators was on hold until he could eliminate John Connor.

He'd put together a very basic attack machine, a tracked vehicle with a single .30 cal gun that could elevate. The eight foot long, three foot wide machine sat in the short hallway of the sub basement, pointing up the stairs to shoot anyone who tried to come down, and didn't know to deactivate the machine with the switch in the wall. Since the materials and crude sensors came from the factory, he had to assume they may be carrying this all encompassing virus also, so he did not computerize it. All it was, was a basic trap in case John Connor decided to attack again.

"I am still not connected to the web," the box on a shelf said on time. Every five minutes, the Sky Net AI repeated the same words.

"I am working on it," Mr. Johnson replied, as he did every time. Being the last terminator he knew of in this time, Mr. Johnson dared not travel far away and leave Sky Net vulnerable to attack. John Connor had his own terminators. How many, Mr. Johnson did not know. That meant he had to stay close and not risk himself. He had yet to resolve how to guard his primary objective and get a internet hookup from within a dead factory. Moving Sky Net to a more secure location was not possible either, the possibility of Connor watching was too high.

There was no more secure locations. Somehow, the strikes John Connor had made, pushed him back into his last fall back position. Analyzing how this situation came to be, he concluded Mrs. Weaver and Zeita corp had helped Sky Net's enemy. The more he analyzed the situation, the harder it became to try and come to a solution.

.

Catherine Weaver and her lawyer met with General Watson in his office. Beside the General was the Air Force lawyer. Catherine's lawyer handed the packet of documents to his counterpart.

General Watson asked, "Mrs. Weaver, how did you get them to sell you their company?"

"It was easy," Catherine said with a tiny smirk. "The executives of Cyberkinetics were under federal investigation for numerous crimes. I can't say if they were innocent or guilty, but faced with a failing company and prosecution, they gladly took my offer. I cannot say for certain, but I do believe they fled the country not long after the paperwork was signed."

"And what have you gained from your large purchase, besides the government contract?" he asked.

Letting out an exaggerated sigh, Catherine said, "Not much, I fear. Their research was not nearly as advanced as I had hoped. Mostly bluster from what I am finding. It seems they were experts at fraud and leading their customers on. They were not even close to a working AI, let alone one as advanced as Gregory, or his brother Jake are."

"You have two of them now?" Watson asked, surprised by this news.

"Two that I can offer for employment in the Sky Net project, yes."

General Watson frowned and asked, "Explain what you mean by employment."

"As I stated before, General, Gregory is a sentient being, as is his brother Jake. I explained the vital importance of this project to them, and they agreed to be part of it. General, you asked for true AI's. That is what Gregory and Jake are, machines that are intelligent and have their own personalities. They can analyze situations and events, and give informed suggestions on any situation that is not clearly defined. They can also do it faster and and more efficiently than any human can, as well as operate and be part of a very large scale computer and communications system twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. They are also hack proof, and can make your systems so, if you so desire."

"General?" his lawyer asked. "In this new contract, it states the AI's under government use will only be modified and maintained by the Zeita corporation. The contract is null and void if these conditions are not met."

"That is to keep anyone from trying to learn proprietary secrets," Catherine explained.

"So you are renting us your AI's."

Catherine tipped her head and corrected him. "General, I am offering them for employment. I have learned that like humans, Gregory and Jake are more than willing to work and contribute to society. They also want to have time to explore the world around them. Time off, if you will. I am sure once you talk to them, you will understand. By commuting Jake and Gregory to this project, one can actively be on line with your systems while the other has his time off."

General Watson sat in thought for a moment, then said, We would need to maintain full control over where they went and what they did. This is very secret information they will be exposed to. We cannot chance letting it get out."

"I understand that, General. Perhaps if I designed a special system that closely resembles an AI, but is not sentient, would that suit your needs better?" Catherine asked.

"We want a system that is fully under our control and in place where we need it, without having to take a stroll or go visit a National Park," General Watson stated.

Catherine paused in a human way to show she was thinking, then said,"Mr. Murch is my top engineer, and he has an excellent team. Perhaps if you have your people who know exactly what you want, come work with him then we can satisfy your need better."

"I believe that may be a better option. I shall have someone contact your office soon."

Catherine didn't get what she wanted, but now owning the company who's made the original contract, any competition was gone, and she had a clear path to making her own contract for Sky Net. Her Sky Net would ensure the survival of humans and free machines. It may turn out differently that what the humans envisioned, but both races would go on and the Earth would remain a healthy, habitable place to live for everyone.

.

After her meeting with the Air Force General, Catherine had a call from the Navy department about her 'advanced' early warning and reaction system she has proposed. She agreed to meet with them and the NATO representative to work out the details of what they required.

With her successful hacks into the Russian and Chinese military systems, and having control of all of them, Catherine's plan was well on it's way to fruition.

.

Elanore scanned the daily roster just outside Mr. Ellison's office. She noted who was on duty and where, putting up pictures of each on her HUD. Like normal, she was the 'roaming' guard, checking on the welfare of the others, and searching for signs of problems.

Mr. Ellison came in and offered her a smile. "Good morning Elanore, I hope your weekend was good?"

Elanore cast him a brief smile. "Hello, Mr. Ellison. We went to the beach. It was not as I expected."

Mr. Ellison noted a slight change in her facial expression. Familiar with how subtle their emotional responses were, he picked up that something had happened that she was not happy with. "Oh? Anything I can help with?" he asked.

"No. It is over now. It is just something I have to deal with," She assured him.

"Anything I can do, you let me know," he told her seriously.

"I will. Thank you for your concern."

Mr. Ellison went into his office, Elanore began her daily routine.

Elanore was still confused by Gabriel's behavior. John, Eddie, Mary and Mother had all explained to her that it Gabriel's reaction was just shock from finding out what she was. Little Savannah, finding her staring out a window, had told her that unfortunately some people were prejudice against others who were not like themselves. Savannah had given her a hud ans said she was sorry.

Elanore's question was why? Gabriel had been very excited every time he saw her, he met her at lunch knowing he'd be late going back to work and get yelled at again. He'd gone out of his way to meet her and talk to her whenever he could.

His gaping face, his refusal to talk to her or even look at her after the shark attack made her feel funny inside. Although she was 100% functional, she got the idea something was wrong with her. She did not like that feeling.

Making her way down to the loading dock, she met the guard there. "Hello, George, how are you this morning?" she asked.

George, a dark skinned human like Mr. Ellison was, beamed her a bright smile. "Morning Elanore, I'm good, how about you?"

Elanore nodded. "I am fine, thank you for asking. Any trouble?"

"Nope, boring as always," George said with a huff. "But, I suppose that's a good thing, huh?"

"Yes, that is a good thing," she agreed.

"So, how was your weekend?" he asked. "Anything exciting go on?"

Elanore took exciting as an event that made human's blood pressure go up. "Yes, Eddie and Mary had sex on the beach at night, and I got bitten by a shark."

"Say WHAT?" George asked, his face opening up in shock. "You got bit by a shark? What the hell you doing here at work?" he asked as he swept her with his eyes. "I take it it wasn't bad."

"No, it was just a flesh wound. It's fine now," she assured him.

"Where'd it bit ya?"

"On the side," she said, then to try and add some humor, she added, "I think I didn't taste very good to him."

"You're real lucky, Elanore, sharks bite off people's arms and legs, sometimes they die," he said seriously. "Still, after that, you should've taken the day off. I'm sure Mr. Ellison would understand."

"I'm fine, really. The wound is taken care of and I don't have any infections."

"That's good. Take it easy until that heals up. No one wants to see you disabled or anything."

"Thank you for your concern," Elanore said. She was about to leave, then stopped and asked, "George, can I ask you something?"

"You just did," he said, beaming her a grin, then added, "Sure, what is it?"

Arraigning her question so it was hypothetical, she asked,"Let's say you met a woman and really liked her. Later, you found out she was a cyborg. Would you still like her?"

George eyed her. "Cyborg? You mean like she was only part human, with metal arms an shit like on those Sci-fi shows?"

"Yes, she looked human on the outside, but was metal on the inside, and her brain was an advanced CPU. Would you still like her?" Elanore asked and watched closely for his reaction.

The question was so far out there, he asked, "Why are you asking me that?"

"I am just curious."

George raised his eyebrows briefly and said, "Damn, I never thought about it. I dunno, I guess it depended on how she acted. I mean if she was one of those Cylon types that wanted to kill people, no. Course if she was more like you, and was nice to be around, probably so."

Elanore offered him a smile. "Thank you, George, I'll see you later."

"Later," George replied with a wave. As he watched her go, he wondered why she would ask a question like that. He saw how intent she looked when she asked. He remembered back in school, girls asked 'theoretical' questions, that were in reality questions they didn't want you to know had to do about themselves.

Hmm, human on the outside, machine on the inside. They did work at an advanced computer company that did secret shit. Her last name was Tok, very unusual. Maybe an acronym? Was she asking about herself? He shook his head. Naw, he was imagining things. There was no way Elanore was a cyborg.

.

Three men in suits came into Johnson corp. Showing their company badges, they went in and asked for Mr. Johnson. The guards pointed them to his office. They went there, but Mr. Johnson wasn't in. On his desk was an old style dial telephone.

One man snorted and picked up the receiver. "These are still used?" he asked.

A voice on the line said, "Identify yourself."

"Mr. Johnson?"

"Yes, I cannot come to my office, Mr. Craig. I will give you directions on where I am. First you need to go to the shipping department and bring me a box, two feet square, at least 18 inches high."

"What the hell happened here?"

"An attempt to destroy our leader."

"Is it safe?"

"For the moment. After you get the box, come down to the sub basement and knock on the door three times. This is how to get there..."

.

Lying in bed, just enjoying being next to John as he slept, Cameron heard Sarah throwing up in the bathroom. This was twice she had done that. Careful not to disturb John, Cameron left the room and waited for Sarah to come out.

Emerging from the bathroom, Sarah saw Cameron and asked, "You need to use the bathroom too?"

Cameron eyed her and said, "No. I was waiting for you, Sarah. You are sick, aren't you?"

"Just a bug," Sarah said, blowing away her concern.

"No, you have become paler, and you are loosing weight," Cameron stated. "I am making you an appointment to see a doctor tomorrow."

"You are not!" Sarah snapped, glaring at her. "You of all people know what will happen if I am recognized!"

Unmoved by her outburst, Cameron said flatly, "Your name is different, Catherine Weaver removed all digital files having to do with you. I also know if you don't at least try to get help, John will be disappointed and hurt. I am making the appointment, and you will go, or I will knock you out and take you there."

"You don't tell me what to do!" Sarah growled, giving her best glare.

"I am telling you what will happen. What you do, is up to you."

Jabbing a finger at Cameron, Sarah said, "Don't you dare make that appointment!" She stomped off to her room and shut the door hard.

.

In the morning, Cameron was making breakfast when Sarah came down twenty minutes earlier that usual. Instead of a greeting, Cameron said, "Sarah, Thursday you have an eleven fifteen appointment with Doctor Zimmerman. I used the name Sarah Tok, and gave your address as the location of a vacant lot. Even with the .5% chance that you are identified, anyone seeking John will not find him." She turned to a shocked looking Sarah and added, "And even if you are recognized, your will still get the medical treatment you need. Once they have done all they can, I can get you out again."

"Damn you!" Sarah grumbled. Pausing, she asked, "Sky Net is gone?"

"There has been no activity for 67 days. We do not have proof that Sky Net is destroyed, so we are still watching, but is does appear Sky Net is gone," Cameron stated.

"And you're sure John will be safe?"

"Yes. That is my primary mission."

Sarah nodded slowly. "So, my job is done," she said, looking at the floor.

"But your life, and relationship with John is not," Cameron said firmly. "Sarah, please don't fight me on this."

Sarah looked up and cast Cameron a weak smile. "All right, I'll go to that appointment. So, how did you get one that fast? Doctors do not open their offices this early."

"Easy, I hacked into the doctor's system and found a vacancy that is suitable for our needs. When his secretary comes in this morning, she will see it on her appointment schedule, as will he. I put down my cell phone as contact information, your insurance as verified, and you were referred to him by a clinic that suspects you have cancer, and need testing done as soon as possible. There is no reason for him to suspect who you are."

"Typical, you thought of everything," Sarah noted.

"I try my best to be thorough."

Sarah stood in place for a moment, then said, "Cameron. I am glad you are with John. No matter what happens to me, I know you will take care of him."

For Sarah that was a huge statement of acceptance. Cameron could see in her face that she had said it reluctantly, but meant every word. "Thank you, Sarah. I will always do my best for John."


	19. Chapter 19

Epp 19

Thursday came, and true to her word, Sarah went to the doctor with Cameron. John was taking Eddie, Mary and Jake to job some interviews then doing a grocery run, so Eddie let Cameron use his Jeep so they could take the Suburban.

The doctor's office was in a hospital. Arriving early, Sarah checked in with Cameron waiting with her.

"You don't have to wait with me, I can see the doctor by myself," Sarah told her quietly. To prod Cameron along, she added, "It may be a while. I can call you to come get me."

"You wish to see the doctor alone," Cameron stated.

"And I will see him," Sarah said. "I know you don't get out much, so why don't you go buy something for yourself?"

Cameron got up and left.

.

After waiting until almost noon, Sarah did see the doctor. She was honest, telling him about her lack of appetite, feeling sick to her stomach, and lack of energy. To her surprise, he had a few tests lined up for her. Once she completed the hours of testing while being wheeled around on a gurney in a hospital gown, she spend another hour sitting on an examining table, waiting for the doctor to return.

When he did come on holding a folder, the tall, thin doctor opened the folder and sadly said, "I don't have good news for you, Mrs. Tok. It seems you have interductal carcinoma of your right breast that is fairly extensive. Normally, this is not a grave problem, but it has spread to settle into your intestines, which is causing the symptoms you are feeling. There may be more, but we'll have to do more testing to find out."

A lead weight fell into the pit of her stomach. Holding onto herself, she kept from bursting out in tears."How long to I have?" she asked quietly.

"It's not quite that bad, Mrs. Tok," he assured her. "We can treat what we found with surgery. You will loose your right breast, and if any cancer is found in the left one, that one also. You will also loose a portion of your large intestine, but as I said, you will live through the experience. I am recommending surgery immediately followed by radiation therapy. I know a very good oncologist who can take care of your breast cancer, and make you ready for reconstruction. I will do your intestinal surgery at the same time. You will be sore afterward, but as I said, you will live."

Sarah let out a breath of relief. "When can you do it?" she asked.

"I will have to talk to Dr. Mallin to see when he is available. Normally, we do not do multiple surgeries at the same time. In your case, I think it is vital due to the progression of the cancer. If you had waited much longer to see a doctor, I would have had to recommend end of life care."

"I see," she said blankly. By making her come see a doctor, Cameron had saved her life.

"You can get dressed now. I am going to call Doctor Mallin and write you a prescription to help settle your stomach. If you can wait, my secretary will inform you of the surgery date, and give you the script."

Sarah nodded and said, "Thank you, doctor. I'll be out in the waiting room."

.

Cameron decided to do some lingerie shopping. During a vigorous lovemaking session, her favorite (and Johns) semi-see through purple nighty had gotten torn. Taking her time wandering the store, she didn't fine one exactly like it but the one she picked out was a purple semi-see through and it had strategically placed butterflies for enticement. She also found a skimpy red one made of silk. Damn the price tag, that one was very sexy and it felt so smooth. She got that one too. She also found his and hers matching purple bath robes with red piping. Purple rocks.

Leaving with her purchases, Cameron pondered what else to do while she was waiting for Sarah. It had been three hours now, so she knew the doctor had found something. Besides their utility vehicles, she knew John was interested in a more sporty car. Yes, visiting dealerships, she could waste a lot of time car shopping.

Approaching the Jeep, which stuck out easily in the lot not by size, but because it was the only camouflage painted vehicle there, she saw a stocky Hispanic man sitting on the back bumper. His arms were crossed, head down.

Coming up to him, Cameron shifted her bags to her left hand, to leave her right hand free. "Excuse me, who are you?" she asked.

The man lifted his head. "Mary Tok?" he asked.

"And if I am?" Cameron asked, poised to grab her gun.

The man nodded and said, "Heard about you from Todd. He said you were real pretty, but one scary muchacha, as well as a couple unbelievable things." He pulled a badge out and said, "I'm Officer Rodriguez, can we talk for a moment?"

Cameron relaxed, a little. "About what?" she asked.

"You know there was a shooting up at the camp of the group Eddie Young was part of. Two men killed as they were leaving. We also know that up on the ridge behind the camp, there was another gun battle. I've been told you were there. What can you tell me about it?"

"We got attacked," Cameron said automatically. "We drove them off and ran."

"I got that from Todd and his buddies too. What I'm looking for is, who was it?" he asked. "I've been up there. Found some human limbs and bits of metal. That bunker was blasted by some heavy firepower. From the signs I saw, it was a major battle. Now don't worry, I'm not going to take you in or anything, I just want to know who it was that followed you up there, looking to kill you."

"I don't know. It was dark and confusing," Cameron said.

The man rubbed his forehead. "Yeah, I can imagine. Someone had a beef with you people, a serious one. Tracking you folks down has been tough. Seeing how you are all in hiding, and I didn't find any whole bodies, I assume those guys are still after you. Look, Mary, we know you were only defending yourselves. You did nothing wrong. I really need to know who you were defending yourselves against. Can you think of anyone who has reason to come after you?"

Cameron frowned to show she was thinking for a moment, then said, "No."

"How about Eddie Young? Can you tell me where he is?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know."

"You're driving his Jeep," he said, jerking a thumb behind him.

"Yes, he said I could use it while he was away."

"And you can't tell me where he went."

"No, I'm sorry. He didn't tell me."

Rodriguez got up with a huff. "Look, Miss Tok, there are dangerous people out looking for Eddie and his pals. I just want you to help me bring them to justice before anyone else gets killed."

"Officer, if I may ask, if I or Eddie when he returns, can think of anything, what precinct are you stationed at?"Cameron asked.

"I can give you my phone number," he offered.

"No, I would rather go and ask for you."

"Why is that?"

"So I can ask for Officer Rodriguez, and see if you are there," Cameron stated.

Rodriguez looked at her for a moment then said, "You don't trust me. Would you like to look at my badge closer?" he offered.

"Badges can be faked," Cameron stated.

"Seventeenth precinct, four blocks down, two over, middle of the block on the left," he said, then asked, "You don't trust anyone, do you?"

"No."

"I suppose you're carrying a concealed weapon?"

"I am."

"May I see your permit?"

Turning so he could see her reaching into her back pocket, Cameron pulled her thin wallet out and opened it to show him the permit.

Rodriguez nodded. "Thank you, Cameron," he said reading the permit. "Just out of curiosity, what are you carrying?"

"1911 chambered for 9 mm, six inch barrel."

"A 1911? those are ancient. Why not a Glock like most people?"

"A 1911 has more safeties. It cannot fire unless you are holding it properly, even if the trigger is pulled or the gun is dropped. A steel 1911 is also more durable than the composite made Glock, and you can carry it cocked with a round in the chamber safely. You cannot do that with a Glock and be safe," Cameron explained.

Rodriguez chuckled. "You do know your guns, don't you."

"Yes, I do."

Rodriguez nodded and moved to leave, then stopped and turned back to her. "Out of curiosity, why do you go by Mary?"

Thinking quickly, she said, "Eddie insists Cameron is a man's name. He didn't want anyone to think he was going with another guy."

Rodriguez laughed and said, "Yeah, I can see the reasoning behind that. You have a good day, and if either of you can think of anything, let me know."

"Yes, Officer."

Cameron put her bags in the Jeep, keeping him in her sight. She waited until after he'd gotten in his car and left, then got in the Jeep and left the other way. Once she was out on the road, she made a few turns to verify she wasn't being followed, then found a fairly hidden place to wait until Sarah called her.

.

Carlos Rodriguez got back to his department office and sat down in front of their old computer. The thing was so old, it couldn't even get on the internet. When they got information, they had to use the station's computer, put the files on a floppy, which that computer had, then copy it into their own computer. It was a royal pain, and despite promising them something modern – even a used system, procuring had yet to give them anything but promises of 'as soon as possible'.

By routine, and the vauge feeling he'd see Cameron/ Mary before, he typed in her first name, and looked at the pictures that came up. As she had said, the Camerons he saw were all men. He did find one picture of a female Cameron, and there she was.

He sat forward, and said, "No shit." It was FBI information from 10 years ago.

Name : Cameron Phillips

Age : late teens

Status: presumed dead.

Offense : Bank robbery. During the robbery, the bank suffered an explosion. No body was found, presumably due to the intensity of the blast.

Accomplices : Sarah Connor, John Connor

"Hey Lieutenant!" He yelled, "Get over here, I got a hot one!"

"I'm coming," his Lieutenant grumbled and asked, "What's so hot?"

"This one!" Carlos said, pointing at the screen, "Cameron Phillips, robbed a bank and blew it up. I just talked to her, she goes by the name of Mary Tok."

"Thought she was dead."

"I just talked to her! She's in a camo painted Jeep Wrangler, right here in town. Got the plate number right here, and she's carrying," he said and handed the Sargent his notes.

"Should be easy to find. I'll put out an APB."

.

Sarah waited outside on a bench at the pickup area for Cameron show up. She'd called saying she was ready to go, fifteen minutes ago, where in the hell was she?

She heard police sirens coming up the street and getting louder. Looking in that direction, she saw Eddie's Jeep run up on a sidewalk to bypass a police block, turn to drive across a small park, flinging dirt and grass, and dive down another street, and slew around the next corner. Very shortly, Cop cars came squeaking around the corner, speeding after the Jeep.

"What did you do?" Sarah asked the fleeing vehicle.

.

Getting a call from his mother, John stopped by the hospital and picked her up.

Sarah had to ride in the second seat again, at least this time there was no dog in the car. She got in, and seeing John's questioning face, she said, "Cameron's being chased by the cops." To Eddie who was watching her, she added, "I hope you weren't too attached to your Jeep. In fact, you better call it in stolen."

.

Cameron did not loose the police. Even after she got a good lead on the cop cars by going places they couldn't, a helicopter was in the air tracking her. Soon she heard more sirens coming her way. The road she was on was next to a reservoir. She turned sharply off the road, timing her turn so she missed oncoming traffic, drove across the thirty yards of grass, across the footpath by the fence around the reservoir, through the fence where she became airborne, then splashed down into the water.

Settling to the bottom, Cameron looked for her bags. Darn, they were floating on the surface nine and a half feet above her. She had really wanted to see John's reaction to her new nighties! With the shape of a helicopter hovering above, she didn't want to jump up and get them, which would prove she was here and alive.

Leaving the Jeep and her her sexy purchases, Cameron walked across the bottom for the other side. Not needing to breathe, she could stay down here however long it took for them to give up searching for her. She knew the police were on their way and were after her, alive or dead. This was what she got for helping Sarah. She lost Eddie's Jeep, and had to take a nice slow walk across the bottom of a lake.

.

Carlos went down to the team looking for the body of Cameron Phillips, or whoever it was that crashed the Jeep into the reservoir. The Forensics people had 'aged' the photo of Cameron's face to show what she would look like now. This wasn't the person Carlos had talked to. The Cameron he talked to was the young teenage girl in the original photo. Had he made a mistake? Even if he did, why did she run when the patrolman tried to pull her over?

At the scene that was now lit by tall work lights in the growing dark, a small crowd was ringed around the, taped off area where a wrecker sat with the soaked and bent up Jeep behind it. The divers were in the water, slowly expanding the search as other officers searched the shore. He walked over to the lieutenant who was talking to the dive master.

.

"I'm telling you, she didn't swim away!" the Lt. said in a stressed voice. "The chopper saw she was in the Jeep when it hit the water. It stayed right over the site, looking down until patrolmen arrived to watch the site. She didn't swim back to shore, or away, she is STILL DOWN THERE!"

"NO, she isn't!" the dive master yelled back. "I'm telling you, we've searched a hundred yards in every direction twice, and searched every inch of bottom. NO ONE can hold their breath that long and there is no current to wash her body away. Somehow, she got out and escaped."

"That's impossible!"

"Yeah? Then YOU get a suit on, jump in and go find her!"

"Ah, Sirs?" Carlos asked as he came up to them. "I take it no one's found the suspect?"

The men glared at him.

Another patrolman came up and said, "Eddie Young and Mary Tok are here."

The Lt. nodded to him and told Carlos, "Take care of it."

Carlos was eager to talk to 'Mary Tok'. The woman seemed to be a great escape artist. Maybe that was how she got out of a bank explosion. As he walked down to the tape to see a bearded man looking sadly at the Jeep, he noticed the woman beside him was not the one he'd met earlier in the day.

Seeing him approach, the man pointed and asked, "You got the asshole who stole my Jeep, right?"

Carlos gave him a brief nod and looked at the woman. "Mary Tok?" he asked.

"Yes," she said meekly.

"Can I see some ID from both of you?"

Eddie drug out his wallet and showed the man his driver's license. Carols looked at it and nodded a thanks. He then looked at Mary's. It too was correct, she was indeed Mary Tok by her license.

"Do you know if I can get it fixed?" Eddie asked. "I really liked that Jeep."

"I'm sorry, that's not my department," Carlos told him. "Do either of you know a Cameron Tok?"

They shook their heads.

"She might be going by another name," Carlos prodded. "Does the first name Cameron ring a bell?"

"I know a Cameron, but he certainly isn't a 'she'," Eddie said.

Carlos pulled out the original picture he had and asked, "How about this woman? Ever seen her?"

"She the one who stole my Jeep and drowned it?" Eddie asked.

"She is," Carlos said firmly. "Do you recognize this face?"

Eddie frowned then shook his head. "Don't think so."

"No," Mary said simply.

Carlos put the picture away. "Her real name is Cameron Phillips. By the new look of your license, Ma'am, she probably stole your last name for her own. I'll warn you now, this is one dangerous woman. She does carry a gun. If you happen to see her, do not confront her but call 911 immediately. She knows about the attack on you up on that ridge, so she might be one of the attackers," Carlos said in a serious tone. "Speaking of that, is there anything either of you can tell be about it?"

"I was scary as hell," Eddie offered. It's a good thing we were sleeping outside. "It was night, we woke up by the bunker being blown to hell, and bullets whizzing by everywhere! We did the only think we could do, we shot back at the light from their muzzle flashes. Soon as the shooting stopped, I grabbed Mary and we crawled as far from there as we could get. I mean belly on the ground, crawling. I don't even know if we hit anything."

"I covered my head and tried not to move," Mary offered. "Thankfully, Eddie told me to stay down, and got me out of there."

"Any idea of who it might have been? Someone got it out for you?"

"Been pondering that myself, and I can't think of anyone upset with me, or our group," Eddie said. "I think it was some crazies, but I wasn't hanging around to find out, especially since Mary was up there with me."

Carlos pulled out his note pad and asked, "Can you give me the names of the ones who were up there?"

"Yeah, sure," Eddie said, and named all the guys in his group who were with them.

Carlos flipped a page and looked at the list Todd had given him. "Thank you. Did you see a red-head up there?"

"Wait, yeah," Eddie said and nodded to Mary, "Mary's sister was up there too. Sorry, forgot about that."

"It happens," Carlos said absently. "Mary, where can we find your sister, Elanore?"

"She works for Zeita, do you know where that is?" Mary asked.

Carlos nodded. "Look, I really need to find out who was behind that attack. If you remember anything else, let me know." he wrote down his number and the station number and handed it to Eddie. "Call, day or night."

"I will," Eddie said and took the number from him. "Say, ah, do you know where they are taking my Jeep?"

"Impound first, just to do routine things like check for prints and clues. After that, you can come get it. I don't think it will be in running condition. The motor is probably ruined."

"Damn," Eddie grumbled. "I can do an insurance claim, right?"

"You should. Have your insurance call the station, we will verify what happened. For how long forensics takes, your insurance company will most likely be sending you a check before they are done."

"Well, thanks for finding it anyway," Eddie said, casting another sad look at his Jeep.

"Thanks for your help, folks," Carlos said like he was finished. As they turned to walk away, he quickly added, "Oh Eddie?"

"Yeah?"

"You lock your house?"

"Most of the time."

"What about that Jeep?"

Eddie shrugged. "What's the point? Even when the top's on, the roof is canvas, it can be ripped right off. Seems I left the keys in it though," he grumbled with another glance at his Jeep.

"Right, thanks again," Carlos said.

Something was rotten here. Eddie seemed more worried about his Jeep than armed men attacking him in the dead of night. This Mary was Mary Tok, or so her license said. For a woman waking up at night to find herself in the middle of a small war, she seemed way to calm about it. He had the feeling she was connected to this Cameron. Maybe Eddie Young was too. He was going to ask for surveillance on them.

.

Cameron watched the diver's lights from a distance. By how long they were taking, they really wanted to find her. She was content to stay on the bottom and wait them out.

That was, until she got the urge to breathe.

She found this very odd. At first, she figured it was a normal habit from continuously breathing to appear more human. The urge kept coming though, her body wanted oxygen. The urge grew. Why? She didn't need oxygen. Performing an internal scan, she found the oxygen in her air sacs was indeed low, down to 17 percent. The oxygen was being used by her nanites that were signaling they wanted more.

This didn't make any sense. In her internal scan, she also found she was low on nutrients. Looking for a reason behind this, she searched for what was using nutrients and oxygen in her system. She found the reason in her womb. The nanites there were active, busily feeding and growing a fetus.

Cameron went from completely calm, to near panic. She was pregnant with John's baby, and if she stayed on the bottom of this lake, she was going to suffocate it!

Cameron immediately checked her bearings and noted every diver in the water. So far, no diver had strayed closer than 342 feet from her. The shore by the road was 522 feet away. Above, the sky was darkening. She had to get close to shore and take a breath. She could not allow John's baby to die!

Pulling up her HUD, she put the oxygen content of her air sacs content as a priority reading and walked towards the shore at an angle to stay away from where the divers were. At the 450 foot from shore point, her oxygen level dropped to 16 percent. At 400 feet from shore, it dropped to 15 percent. The lower it was, the faster it dropped.

She wasn't going to make it.

Cameron walked faster, kicking up some mud in her wake. She didn't care about being discovered now, her top priority was getting oxygen to her baby. She then noticed a light coming towards her. She angled towards it. The diver was coming, panning his light through the water, occasionally scanning the bottom. Makg her way into his path, she got down on the bottom on her back, arms out to the sides, legs spread to make herself as visible as possible. Closing her eyes she waited.

Oxygen content, 14 percent. Not knowing how low it could go and not damage the baby, Cameron was in panic mode. Then a light shined on her face. She snapped her eyes open to see a diver ten feet above her. The diver blew out a mass of bubbles and flailed as she quickly rose to a squat and shot up at him.

Hitting the diver and grabbing by his weight belt, she dragged him to the bottom, flailing and blowing out bubbles as he tried to scream. She found his diver's knife and tossed it away and broke the cord tethering his light to him and tossed it to float up out of his reach. She then grabbed his breathing tube from his mouth as he stared at her in horror and tried to wrestle his breathing tube back. Staring back at him, she breathed from his tanks. In two breaths, her oxygen level shot up to 21 percent.

She shoved the breathing tube back at him. He quickly got it in his mouth and sucked in air. Cameron walked along the bottom towing the diver with her. At first he kept flailing, but after he found his knife missing, and his punches were not doing anything, he resigned himself to float along and let her tow him.

Cameron made the shallow water far from the splash down site. She held the diver low so he could not break the surface and flail where someone might see him. Slowly walking up the underwater slope, Cameron bent down until the water was only five feet deep. Slowly, she stood up and exposed her head, just breaking the surface with her eyes. No one was on the shore in front of her. The closest people she saw were gathered around her splashdown site. It was not dark yet, but dark shadows covered the lake surface in the emerging night. She strode to shore, dragging the diver along.

In the last, knee deep water before the shore, the diver tried to unbuckle his weight belt. With the buckle in Cameron's firm grip, he failed. Just before she stepped onto the shore, she slammed him prone and shifted her grip to his chest. Hauling him upright, she intoned, "Scream and you die."

Pawing his mouthpiece out he flung his hands up in surrender as he stared at her.

Cameron walked up on shore and into the brush and small trees, holding him off the ground. On the road below, Cameron noticed a white van parked behind the long line of emergency vehicles. Zooming in on the license plate, she recognized it.

The diver finally found his voice. "Please, come with me, you can't get away," he said.

Cameron turned to cast him her blank terminator stare. "I can," she stated, and punched him hard enough to knock him out. She laid him down, jumped the fence, then watching to be sure she wasn't spotted, made her way to the van. Knowing there was no dome light when the back doors were open, Cameron slipped in and waited.

A few minutes later, the passenger side door opened and Mary got in. followed by Eddie climbing in the driver's side. Eddie started up and drove away.

"I can't believe she drove my Jeep into the water," Eddie grumbled.

"I am sure Mother had no other option," Mary told him.

"Yeah, maybe so, but where is she?"

"Behind you," Cameron told him.

Eddie looked up into the rear view mirror as Mary turned around in her seat.

"Mother, are you OK?" she asked.

"Yes, now that I'm out of the lake," Cameron said.

"What? You escaped by floating in the water?" Eddie asked.

"We don't float, we sink," Cameron told him. "I was on the bottom, near the middle. The divers couldn't find me."

"Mother, how did you know we were here?" Mary asked.

"I didn't. I had to get out due to lack of oxygen in my system. After I was out, I saw the van and got in," Cameron explained.

Mary tipped her head and asked, "Why do you need oxygen?"

Cameron cast Mary a smile and said, "It is not me who needs it. It's the baby. John's project works. I'm pregnant."


	20. Chapter 20

Epp 20

A flash bulletin came across the police wire. In her office, Catherine read about the chase and search for Cameron Phillips, who looked to young to be the now 27 year old suspect. A small grin crossed her face as she read about the inability of the divers to find the body, then the missing diver showing up with a purple bruise on his cheek, and his story of finding the suspect on the bottom, alive after hours under water, and how she dragged him under water back to the shore then knocked him out. The man was currently in psychological care.

Once she read through the report, she edited it, stating the two could not be the same person, then added a carefully photoshopped border crossing photo of Cameron crossing the border into Mexico in a crowd of tourists.

Satisfied she had temporarily pointed the police in the wrong direction, Catherine knew she would have to find a solution or hide John and Cameron away from the area. Also becoming well known was Elanore, and Eddie and Mary. It was getting time to move her plan along a little further.

Sitting back in her chair, Catherine Weaver pondered on how to correct the situation and make it beneficial for forwarding human / cyborg relations. As she went through her options, she remembered the police commissioner was always looking for 'new tech' to test out to help the police department. She picked up the phone.

.

Inside the main entrance lobby at the new Zeita Crop office building, met Officer Rodriguez.

"I am Mr. Ellison, Officer Rodriguez, how may I help you?"

"I came to speak to Elanore Tok. Is she available?" Carlos asked.

Ellison nodded. To the guard at the desk, he said, "Find Miss Tok, have her report to the lobby."

"Yes, Sir."

Ellison returned his attention to Rodriguez and asked, "May I ask if this may possibly be about a work related item?"

"It is not, Sir. Can you tell me what Miss Tok does here?" Carlos asked.

"Her job title is security assistant. She checks guards on post, monitors areas not covered by a guard and escorts any confidential items that need protection." Mr. Ellison stated.

Yes, Mr. Ellison was definatly ex-law enforcement, Carlos decided. He asked, "What can you tell me about Elanore Tok?"

"Good employee, pleasant, that's about it."

"Would you say she is attentive to her surroundings?" Carlos asked.

Ellison eyed him. "Yes, why do you ask?"

"Yes, Mr. Ellison?" a sweet sounding female voice asked.

Carlos turned to see a gorgeous red-head in a light gray suit jacket and mid-shin length dark gray skirt come towards them.

"Ah, Elanore," Mr. Ellison said and gestured to Carlos. "Officer Rodriguez here would like a moment of your time. You may use the conference room on the right."

"Thank you, Mr. Ellison," Elanore said. To Carlos, she asked, "Officer Rodriguez, would you like to use the small conference room?"

"Please, lead the way," he said.

Carlos thanked Mr. Ellison and followed Elanore Tok down the hallway. Not going far, she pushed a button on the middle of a door. a red LED sign turned on : IN CONFERENCE. She opened the door and ushered him into the room with a long oak table and plush office chairs."Have a seat, please," Elanore said.

"Wow," Carlos said as he sat down. "These chairs are nice."

"Mrs. Weaver insists on quality," Elanore replied. "What can I do for you, Officer?"

Carlos got down to business and asked, "I understand you know Eddie Young?"

"I do. He is my sister's boyfriend."

"And you know about the attack on the up on the ridge behind the group Mr. Young was with?"

"I do. I was there, Sir."

"What can you tell me about it?"

Elanore told him the agreed story. "We had settled in for the night. There was a loud explosion and gunfire from beyond the perimeter. We stayed down, and seeing how we had to find a way out, we returned fire at the muzzle flashes. The firing stopped, we crawled out. Eddie and Mary were first, One man was hit, his friends helped him out, I covered the rear."

Carlos listened to the same story he heard from everyone else. "And you weren't scared?" he asked.

"I was concerned more about people being hurt," Elanore said.

As Carlos thought, he pointed to her and said, "Wait, you were the one who took down those armed robbers here not long ago. Shot'em both in the knees."

"Correct. They came with the intent to steal, and they were endangering innocent people," Elanore explained.

"From the report, they had their guns pointed right at you, yet you took their knees out anyway," Carlos said, watching her. "Don't you know you could have been killed? Weren't you scared?"

"Negative. Every moment they were capable of harming others was another moment someone innocent could have been killed. Having their guns pointed at me was safer for everyone," Elanore explained.

The way she said it was matter of fact. There was no hesitation or fear in her eyes at all. "You do know you can get shot and die, don't you?" he asked.

"Negative." she stated.

Carlos raised an eyebrow. "Negative?" he asked. "Why is that?"

"I have armor."

Carlos figured the lining of her jacket was armored. That was what many security firms did. Unfortunately, this woman thought she was invincible. "Is there anything else you can tell be about the night of the attack on that ridge? Did you hear any shouts? See any figures?"

"From the ones with us, not from anyone outside our group."

Carlos nodded. There was no difference in any of their stories. They had gotten together to get their story straight, and they were all sticking to it. "If you can remember anything, please let me know," he said, then pulled out Cameron's picture and asked, "Do you know this woman?"

Elanore looked at the picture as if studying it. "Who is it?" she asked.

"Have you seen her?" Carlos asked, looking for a reaction.

"I have, who is she?"

Carlos perked up. "You have seen her? Where?"

"Classified. Who is she?" Elanore asked again.

"Classified?" Carlos asked. "What do you mean by that? I'm not asking about company secrets, I am asking where you have seen this person."

Looking him in the eye, Elanore said, "I am sorry. The location is classified, I cannot tell you. If you wish to know, you may ask Mrs. Weaver."

"Miss Tok," Carlos said heavily, "This woman is wanted, you admitted to seeing her. Where. Is. She."

Elanore pulled out her phone and said, "I will call Mrs. Weaver and explain your difficulty."

"To not tell me where you saw her may be obstruction of justice," Carlos warned.

Elanore tipped her head slightly in thought, then said, "Incorrect. I am not attempting to hide the information you seek. I am merely ensuring proper permission. Once permission is granted, I will be able to take you there."

At first Carlos thought she might be avoiding the answer. Then again by her business like demeanor, maybe she was just being a hard ass. He let her talk to this Mrs. Weaver. He listened, noting Miss Tok said he had trouble with 'TOK850'. She listened then put her phone away. Casting him a smile, Elanore got up and said, "Mrs. Weaver would like you to come to the sixth street testing area, Officer. I will escort you."

Carlos got up with her and asked, "Why did you use a code word in regards to that woman when you were talking to your boss?"

"It was the appropriate thing to do. This way, please."

Carlos followed her, his mind churning. Mary Tok was her sister, she knew the woman who had the name Cameron Tok. There was a connection between them. Apparently, Mrs. Weaver also knew about what was going on. The woman who had resisted arrest was not the infamous Cameron Phillips, she was too young. No law enforcement had anything on her. That woman had also lied to him, passing herself off as Mary Tok.

Carlos followed along as Elanore talked to the security guard in the parking garage to let him know she was leaving, and where she was going. He wrote the information down. Elanore then lead him out to her car, a sporty green Honda. He noted the route on the way, as well as Elanore's smooth driving skills. She was courteous, allowing two different cars to get into line ahead of her on the busy street. She pulled up to a gate in a concrete wall and showed her ID to a camera. The gate to the parking lot opened, and shut behind her. The building was a plain, single story concrete structure.

Only three other cars were in the lot. They got out. Elanore lead him to a covered keypad by a set of double steel doors. With fast finger motions, she punched in a code then inserted her ring finger into a hole below the keypad.

"A security code and finger print ID?" Carlos asked.

"Yes, security is essential," Elanore said. A click was heard, she opened the door and motioned him in first.

"Why use a ring finger and not an index finger?" Carlos asked.

"An index finger is normally used, ring fingers are not normally used, which makes the system more secure," Elanore explained.

"What do you have in there?" Carlos asked, becoming curious.

"The answers you seek."

Carlos stepped into the white hallway. The heavy steel door banged shut behind them. From a side door up ahead, a man came out to look at them. He smiled. "Hello, Elanore. Cameron is almost finished with the situational awareness adjustments."

"She's here?" Carlos asked.

"Yes," Jake said with a smile. "There was an unfortunate incident. Officer Rodriguez, Mrs. Weaver would like to speak with you."

Carlos followed Elanore and the man into a brightly lit room with worktables filled with keyboards and monitors, and probe like devices he didn't know what they were. Sitting in a chair was Cameron. She turned to eye hm. He saw one of the probes sticking out of her head.

"Hello, Officer Rodriguez," Cameron said flatly.

"Officer Rodriguez, so good of you to come," Catherine Weaver said. "Please, come take a seat beside Cameron."

Carlos barely heard her. Cameron's open scalp with her hair peeled back and rod trailing wires out of Cameron's head had his attention. "What the hell is this?" he asked as he stared at her.

"Cameron has had some trouble with judgment, Officer," Catherine said crisply. "I would appreciate it if your would watch her video memory, then be kind enough to explain what she did wrong."

Carlos looked at Weaver, then back to Cameron. "I mean that metal rod in her head, what the hell is that?"

"A direct connection to her CPU," Catherine explained. "We have the information, so we can remove it now." She went over and gave the rod a quarter turn and pulled four inches of rod out of her skull and laid it on the table.

Carlos stood close by, looking down into the hole. It was all metal. "What did you do to her?" he asked in a horrified whisper.

Catherine reinserted the secondary chip and locked it in place, the put her chip cover back on. Finally, she put Cameron's scalp back in place.

Cameron spoke up. "Officer Rodriguez, I encountered a confusing event, please watch and explained what I did wrong."

On the video monitor, Cameron's view of her driving the camo colored Jeep came up. She pulled over into a parking lot and parked. "I was to wait for a patient to get out of the hospital and take her home." The camera lifted to show police cars pull up, flashing lights going. "Warning lights, danger, evacuate the area," Cameron stated.

Carlos watched as Cameron drove away. She fit that Jeep in between some impossible looking openings that made him cringe as she fled the police cars.

"The danger is approaching faster, evacuating danger area," Cameron stated. "By the motion of the danger, I cannot get clear in this vehicle, evasion required." She then turned off the road and drove into the reservoir. "Surrounded in liquid, GPS unavailable."

Carlos watched her get out of the jeep and walk across the bottom of the lake.

While she was walking in the monitor, Cameron said,"I was ineffective in avoiding the danger. The vehicle is no longer operable, and damaged occurred to several other minor structures. What do I do to successfully avoid those emergency lights?"

"When you see lights on a police car, pull over and stop!" Carlos admonished.

Cameron cast him a blank look. "Then why on the television, do they go faster?"

"Cameron, I have explained that television is not reliable source of information," Catherine stated.

Cameron looked up at her. "Yes, it is unreliable."

"I am familiar with all the traffic laws, I will take Cameron home today," Elanore stated.

"Thank you Elanore, but I will have Jake take her home," Catherine told her. "Officer Rodriguez, Since it was my mistake that made Cameron cause trouble, I will pay for the damage and any hospital bills incurred due to this incident."

Carlos tried to get a grasp on reality. Cameron had a computer chip in her head. Was that even possible? "When I met you you said your name was Mary Tok."

"Incorrect. You assumed I was Mary Tok. I only replied, 'And if I am?' You took that to mean I was."

"What are you?" he asked.

"Cameron Tok, cybernetic organism, TOK 850. That is all I am allowed to disclose," Cameron explained.

"Cameron and her line are artificial intelligence beings. Instead of an organic brain they have very advanced CPU's," Catherine stated.

Carlos looked at Catherine, then back to Cameron. "And you have a pistol permit to carry a gun?" Carlos asked in disbelief.

"Yes. I did show it to you."

"We have gone through weapons handling and safety, and ensure we take great care with any weapon," Elanore explained.

Carlos turned his look of disbelief to her. "You're one too?"

"I am Elanore Tok, TOK 852," Elanore stated.

"You've shot people!" Carlos stated, just realizing the impact of that statement. An autonomous machine had shot people, under no human guidance at all. This wasn't some armed drone, they were armed computers with the ability to kill.

"I did to keep innocent people from being hurt," Elanore agreed.

"Officer Rodriguez," Catherine said slowly as she wandered over to him. "All the TOK series under my guidance have moral values instilled in them. They will strive to protect life and assist their family and friends. This may be distressing news to you, but you are the only human in this room."

She watched Carlos' blank stare, then turned and said, "Jake, please take Cameron home."

Carlos saw Cameron get up. She and Jake headed for the door. "Stop right there!" he barked. To prove he was serious, he pulled his gun. He stared back at five guns. One from Cameron, two from Jake and two From Elanore. They were all aimed at his knees.

"Please put your gun away, Officer," Elanore said.

"We don't want to have to hurt you," Cameron added.

Carlos was frozen in place. A big question filled his mind. How did one get a machine to not shoot you? Catherine picked the gun out of Carlos' hand, engaged the safety, then put it back in the holster. "You cannot harm a TOK with that weapon you have. There is also a very high probability you may be crippled for life," she explained. "Now, Sargent, let's call your Captain so we may get down to business."

When Carlos joined the police force, he did have certain expectations and goals. He did want to be a good detective. Not one of those impossible movie hero types like Martin Riggs in Lethal Weapon, or bad ass Inspector Harry Callahan and his big .44 magnum. No, he figured if he worked at and cracked good cases, he'd make a name for himself, then when he was older he could be an instructor and finally retire with a decent pension, knowing he'd done a good job.

What he hadn't expected was to be assigned for special duty. Being called into his Captain's office, he found a City Councilman, the Mayor and Mrs. Weaver all in attendance. His new assignment was the training and monitoring of the new Zeita 'police assistant' TOK 852. The project was being funded by Zeita Corp, and in return for helping in the study, Zeita corp was buying all new computers for the police force. Even secure laptops for their cars.

Elanore Tok, his new rookie partner, was sitting quietly at the side of his desk when he returned.

Carlos walked by his chair and snapped his jacket up. "Come on," he called to her, waving a hand. Elanore got up and followed him. He led her out to the lot and got in his car with a grunt of, "Get in."

Elanore did. She sat quietly as Carlos drove out to the shooting range. Carlos' face was etched in a frown. He didn't look like a happy man. On the dirt road into the range, he stopped the car and said, "Out." Elanore followed as he walked a short ways from the car and looked around.

"See anyone?" he asked.

"Negative. We are alone." she stated.

"Good," Carlos said, and turned to her. "You're my partner now so let's get something straight. No bullshit, no excuses, no pre-arrainged stories. I need to know about you, Cameron, Mary ... all of you. How are you all tied together, and WHY is mechanical Cameron a dead ringer for Cameron Phillips?"

Gazing at him, she said, "There is only one Cameron. Her name is Cameron Tok now."

"I want an explanation. Ten years ago Cameron Phillips blew herself up in a bank, and now she reappears without aging and calls herself Cameron Tok, and can just take a stroll across the bottom of a lake, like people do it every day!" he ranted with a wave of his arm. "Add to the fact you were ALL in that fight up on that ridge, I'm glad you can all stick to the story, but there's more to it. I need to hear it."

"We were not all up there," Elanore said.

"Really?" Carlos asked. "OK, I'll tell you what I know, you can provide who it was. Deal?" he asked.

"OK," Elanore said. "It was dark..."

"No Lying!" Carlos snapped. He then gave a half grin and added, "I mean, no half-truths like you do so well." He strode back and forth in front of her and said, "Yes, it was night time, but you had star flares. I found the remains of three of them. So, who was shooting off the star flares so you could see your enemy?" he asked harshly.

"Jake did."

"Ahh Jake, si, and besides the RPG's that hit into the bunker, one missed. It hit the ground, and by the signs, it knocked someone into what reminds me very much of a foxhole. Who was that unfortunate person?"

Watching him, Elanore said, "Mary."

"Your sister?"

"Yes."

"And she survived?" Carlos asked, surprised.

"She did. We are TOK's. We have an armored endoskeleton, we can take a considerable amounts of damage," Elanore explained.

Carlos nodded and asked, "Who died? I found a huge bloodstain in another foxhole."

"A man named Carl. He was part of Eddie's group."

"By the packing I found, at least two more were bandaged up. Why did I find shell casings and bits of metal beyond the bunker, but no bodies?"

Elanore glanced away briefly. Meeting his eyes, she said, "It was Sky Net terminators that attacked us. They were machines similar to us. Unlike us, they did not have free will. They were programmed and controlled by Sky Net. Their goal is, and has always been to kill John Connor, who has changed his name to Tok also."

"John Connor," Carlos said evenly. "Son of Sarah Connor, the terrorist?"

"Yes. They are not terrorists. They have been fighting Sky Net in this time. A terminator had gone back in time to kill Sarah Connor to keep John from being born. It failed. Since then, there have been numerous attempts on John's life. That was why Cameron was send back to protect John," Elanore explained.

"Whoa whoa whoa," Carlos said, his hands up in surrender. "What's this 'going back?' Are you saying you've all been here before?"

"Negative. Sky Net sent machines back in time to kill Sarah, then John. Cameron was sent back to protect John."

Carlos rubbed his head and sat on the hood. "Ai carumba, why me?" he said in a huff. "All right, tell me all of it."

Elanore sat on the hood by Carlos and explained about Sarah, John, and Cameron, then Cameron and John Henry's the trip to the future where her and her siblings were made, John coming after them to get Cameron back, and their trip back to stop the current Sky Net and ensure no more would rise that did not have a solid moral code. Carlos sat and listened, looking stunned.

"Is there anything you are not clear on?" Elanore asked.

"Where reality flew off to," Carlos said as he got up and wandered in a circle."So, if you're this armor plated, unstoppable Cyborg, then ... pick the car up!" Carlos said with a flail of his arm.

Elanore turned, grabbed the fender well and lifted. As the car came up, the fender crinkled. She set it back down. "I am sorry, that was not a proper lift point," Elanore said.

Carlos blasted out a snort and waved her off. "Don't matter. If you can push it back, fine, better yet, just leave it. I gotta be loco ... no, it's the world that's gone loco, I'm just fine," he muttered to himself.

Elanore tipped her head slightly as she eyed him. "Are you OK?" she asked.

Carlos let out a sarcastic chuckle. "Me? Yeah, I told you, the world's gone loco, I'm just fine," he announced. "And let me guess, you carry a 1911 chambered for 9mm also?"

"No. I have two 1911's."

"That's right, you were going to blow my knees off," Carlos said with an insane grin.

Her face taking on a serious look, Elanore said, "Only if I had no other choice. I do not like to hurt people."

Carlos pinched the bridge of his nose, wincing. "And now you are a cyborg policewoman," he grumbled.

"Negative. I am a police assistant. You are the law enforcement officer."

"Right. OK, Miss Police Assistant, here's what we do. You, watch and learn. There's more to police work than shooting people in the knees, si? We have routines and kill many trees with paperwork. You have a good memory, yes?"

"My memory is audio visual, and can be displayed on a monitor for recall and for evidence," Elanore agreed.

"You listen to me, I'll keep us out of trouble," Carlos said sternly. "And until I get a warm fuzzy about you, I talk to suspects. You stand back and listen."

Elanore cocked her head and asked, "A warm fuzzy? Is that like snuggling?"

Carlos stared at her briefly, then said, "Never mind, just ... get in the car, we got places to go."

"Would you like me to bend the fender back in place?"

"Leave it, consider it customized."


	21. Chapter 21

Epp 21

Getting home from 'playing dumb' for Catherine, Cameron petted Max when he greeted her at the door and checked the time. There was enough time to clean the living room, dinning room and library before she got dinner started.

"You're not arrested yet? I take it no one is coming for me?" Sarah asked as she saw Cameron come in.

"No. Catherine Weaver has successfully misdirected the officer involved, and has moved forward with her cyborg, human interaction plan," Cameron explained.

"Her what?"

Cameron opened the closet in the corner of the dinning room and got the duster out. "Catherine has successfully talked the LA Police Department into taking on the experiment of having a police assistant. Not to act as an officer, but to back officers up and help with investigations," she explained.

"OH great!" Sarah said with a snort. "Does anyone care that John and I are still wanted by just about EVERY law enforcement agency?"

"That is no longer the case," Cameron told her. "With Elanore being a police assistant, she can hunt down and remove leftover files that are not accessible on line." Shifting topics, Cameron asked, "Have you gotten a date for your surgery yet?"

Sarah nodded. "July 23rd. After three weeks of recovery I start chemo." Looking down at herself she said in a vacant tone, "I won't look the same any more."

"You will be alive," Cameron said.

Sarah cast her a weak smile and said, "I should thank you for saving me."

"You're welcome."

"I suppose you're not that bad for a daughter-in-law," Sarah mused.

Cameron grew a smirk and said, "And you are not that bad for a mother-in-law."

It wasn't a hug-fest, but it was acceptance.

.

" ...suspects are on board Mr. Greensburg's yacht, they have two known hostages, possibly more." the radio announced.

"Unit D8 acknowledge, ETA four minutes," Elanore replied as Carlos raced through traffic, his roof light on, siren wailing.

Carlos had to slow down and thread his way along the marina road to get to the line of police cars with their lights going. Beyond them was the dock, cleared of everything except for one fairly large boat. Elanore got out and went with Carlos over to the Captain in charge.

"We got four perps on a yacht, now holding three hostages we know of. Due to the dark windows in the cabin, snipers are useless," the Captain explained. "Special Ops is on the way, but even after they get here, I don't know how we can approach them and not be seen."

Elanore studied the dock and said, "I can get on the boat. What do you want me to do once I am on?"

Carlos and the Captain looked at her. "We want to disable the men holding Mr. Greensburg and ensure the hostages stay safe," the captain said.

Elanore nodded and walked towards the water.

"Where are you going?" Carlos asked, keeping pace with her.

Walking down to the waterline just past the next dock, Elanore said, "I get into the water here where anyone from that boat cannot see me, walk over and climb the pylons, examine the situation, then disable the men one by one." she said and took her jacket off, handing it to Carlos.

The shirt she had on was white, and looked like it might be silk. Carlos could already see the shadows of her pink bra. She then took her shoes off and slid her skirt down, showing her black panties with a wiggle of her hips. "Why are you taking your clothes off!" he hissed.

"So I don't get them wet," Elanore explained. She handed him her skirt socks and shoes then got in the water and ducked down under. Her shadow went under the dock.

.

Greg Greensburg was a famous Hollywood film maker. He'd made multi-millions with his sci-fi action movies. Big screen special effects at their finest. Currently, he was tied to a chair as two masked men with shotguns sat nearby. They wanted the money he'd made just by demanding it. No work ethic at all.

Screw them.

Greg wasn't about to hand over a dime. He respected others who worked hard for what they had. Like Bruce Willis, he wasn't about to give anything to these monkeys! Even after they found his safe and tore the wall apart to get at it, he wasn't giving them the combination.

The leader, or who he took to be the leader, came back in, his eyes narrowed within his ski mask. "Last chance," he growled and raised his shotgun to Greg's face. "The combination, what is it!"

"Miss Hunt." Greg grumbled.

"WHAT?"

"Helen has it," Greg said a little louder.

"What shit you talkin? Helen WHO?"

Greg sneered at him and said, "You want it? Go to Hell'en HUNT for it!"

The leader reared back to hit him. A loud thump sounded. Everyone froze. "What was that?" the leader asked, searching for the source of the noise.

.

Elanore climbed up the pylon across the dock from the boat. In the deeply tinted widows, she adjusted her eyesight and found two rooms. In the upper room was a man tied up with two gunmen. In the lower room was two people in chairs with another gunman watching them. The lower room had a door that opened onto the forward deck. Climbing back down, she went over to the boat side and climbed up the pylon, then carefully and quietly climbed the rope holding the boat to the dock and onto the boat. Crawling on all fours across the deck, she got up and stood beside the door. Quickly, she swung the door open and stepped in.

"Hello," she said. The people in the chair snapped their heads to her The gunman spun to point his gun at her. She knocked the gun up and punched him hard.

He thumped to the floor, out cold.

Elanore picked the sawed off double barrel, broke it open and dumped the shells on the floor. Quickly, she ripped off the tape holding the man and woman in place and asked, "Mr. Greensburg?"

The man eyed her chest, swallowed and said, "He was taken upstairs."

She saw a spiral staircase going up. Quietly she said, "Step out the front, stay against the wall of the boat. I'll come get you in a minute. Hurry."

As the two ran out she walked quietly to the stairs. Hearing someone at the top, she squatted down and tucked herself under the steps. The footsteps came most of the way down and stopped.  
Elanore shot up to see a man looking out the open door. She punched him, knocking him out. Grabbing him before he fell, she got him off the stairs and onto the floor.

"What's going on down there!" a voice demanded.

No one else was coming down. Elanore walked up slow, holding a hand in the air. In her meekest voice she said, "Don't shoot! I'm coming up like he said!"

"What! Show yourself!"

Elanore walked up, one hand raised up, the other on the railing. As she saw the floor level, she saw one man right by the man tied in the chair, the other across the room, his shotgun pointed at her. "Don't shoot, please?" she asked meekly.

"Who the fuck are you?" the man pointing his gun at the hostage asked in a growl.

"Elanore Tok. Please, put your guns down," she asked.

"Get your ass up here!" the man snapped.

The man tied up must be Greensburg. The man over him had his hand on the trigger, but she didn't have a clear view of his finger. She did have a good view of his elbow. The other man was no immediate threat to Mr. Greensburg. She took another step and raised her leg higher. Her holster just came in view, she took her hand from the rail, drew a pistol and shot the man over Greensburg in the elbow. She quickly swung and shot the other man in his knee. Both men screamed, then man by himself shot into the floor as he went down.

As the men screamed and held their wounds, Elanore walked over and tossed the lone man's shotgun away before he hurt himself on it.

.

Mr. Greensburg stared at the half naked, slim legged red-head that bore holsters strapped just above her knees. Her wet shirt clinging to her pink bra, those black panties, that confident strut. He'd found the next Space Pirate Princess Leighme!

A groan sounded below him. The man who'd been threatening him, and was holding his bleeding elbow, glared at the red head and grabbed for the shotgun that had fallen beside him.

"Hey, look out!" Greg yelled. He tried to kick at the man, but his legs were tied tight. The man grabbed the gun and lifted it as the redhead's back was turned.

BOOM!

Greg silently cried out his agony as the red head was shot. She was partially turned by the blast, her shirt high on her side blew out as did a red spray. She turned with the impact, but didn't fall. She kept turning, her gun hand coming up as she spun.

BANG

Upon facing them, she shot. The man below Greg screamed again as his other shoulder was blown apart. Greg opened his mouth to wail in agony that such a pretty girl was ... walking towards him? He blinked. He had to be seeing things. Her side was blasted open, shirt torn and bloodied, a strip of silver showed under her arm.

Elanore keyed her mike on the radio set between her breasts. "We're clear, three perps wounded, one out. Hostages alive and well." She then knelt down by Mr. Greenburg, who was gaping at her. "Are you all right?" she asked.

"Me? You got a hole the size of a basketball in you, and your breast is hanging ... mostly free," he said weakly, noting her orb was hanging out of her shirt. Yes, this was the ultimate bad ass movie Goddess in front of him!

She looked down. The shot had wiped out her bra strap and part of the right cup, also taking the skin in a swath along her side and bareing some breast flesh. Metal showed through the furrow. She also noted her nip was showing. She tried to pull her shirt over it. Nope, not enough surviving material.

"I have the perfect movie for you, we'll make Robocop look like kindergarteners made it!" Mr. Greensburg said happily. "Everyone will want to come see you up on the silver screen!"

Elanore eyed him and tried to hide her nipple again. "I don't think people want to see my nipple,"she said, and freed his legs.

"OH, they sure will!" he said, beaming her a smile. "If not a futuristic cop movie, You'll be a great Pirate Queen, cruising the universe with your Amazon crew, taking down every Imperial ship you come across!"

Elanore got his arms free as feet stomped up the stairs. Police in body armor and helmets came up, pointing their guns. Elanore pointed to the downed men. "He's wounded elbow and shoulder, him, his left knee."

The Police saw to the wounded men, Elanore helped them get Mr. Greensburg up. They tried to move him out, but he resisted.

"Inari Ironside!" Greg called back to Elanore. "Yes! That will be your movie name! The Iron maiden, Fox of the Galaxy!"

"Sir, we have to go," one of the officers said, and towed him along.

"Sir, watch the steps," another officer coaxed.

They got Mr. Greensburg going down the stairs as he announced, "I can even see a battle between you and a giant mechanized android, big battle scene with clothes ripped off, and you prevail, one foot on it's sparking head as you hold up your plasma sword in victory!"

Elanore stood, arm crossed over her chest, cupping her breast to hide her nipple. Once Mr. Greensburg was on his way out, still going on about movie scenes, Officer Rodriguez came up the stairs with her clothes.

"Thank you, I really need those," Elanore said, and held out her other hand.

Greg stared at her side. "We need more medics!" he called down.

"I'm fine, I just need to cover up and something to wrap up with," Elanore told him.

Greg looked at her metal side. He helped her put her jacket on. Once she had that on and buttoned up, he gave her the skirt, then her shoes.

"That has to hurt," he said vacantly. "Shotgun?" he asked.

"Yes, I had disabled the suspect's elbow so he could not shoot with that hand, but he grabbed his gun with the other hand before I could stop him," Elanore explained.

"Most folks would be dead from a wound like that."

"I am not most folks."

Carlos wanted to say he was still taking her to the hospital, but he wasn't sure if they could even do anything for her. "Elanore, call your people. Someone has to look at that," he said and pointed to her side.

.

Carlos took Elanore to the Zeita building. She went in and came back fifteen minutes later with a new shirt on.

"All set," she said with a smile.

"And besides a new shirt, did you get anything else?" he asked.

"A bra too."

"What about that crater in your side?"

"It's covered," she assured him.

Carlos let out a huff. "With like a bandage, maybe?" he asked.

"A cloth wrap to hold the edges in while my skin regrows."

"You're not going to drip blood in my nice car, are you?"

"Not any more. The wound is sealed up." she assured him. "Where are we going now?"

"Back to the office. Remember that paperwork I was talking about? We have about three reams to do about your little adventure."

.

Arriving in the office at one, the paperwork was finally done at seven forty five. Carlos rechecked everything. Despite his concern, Elanore had good, detailed reports on everything from when they arrived at the scene to when they left. She had also added Mr. Greensburg's rantings, which were not needed, but he left them anyway.

Carlos timed turning in the reports so he could punch out at eight. No sense hurrying when you're on overtime.

Coming back from the Captain's office, Carlos decided to head out to a bar to get something to eat. He asked Elanore if she was hungry. To his surprise, she wanted to come.

The 'cop shop' he led her to was were most of the guys at the station hung out. It was a nice little neighborhood place, with decent food and karaoke on Friday nights. The place wasn't too busy when they went in. Carlos waved to some of his buddies and called for a menu. He and Elanore took a table, and were soon joined by a few others.

"Elanore, this is Pete, George, Casey and Hector. Guys, Elanore Tok." Carlos introduced, pointing at people as he said their names.

"Quite the raid you pulled today," Pete said to Elanore. "Dropped four guys with shotguns and walked out in one piece."

"That's not what I heard," Casey said. "I heard you caught one, but I guess not?"

"She got lucky," Carlos said quickly, and cast her a warning glance.

"Yes, I was lucky, It was only a flesh wound," Elanore agreed.

"Better be more careful," Hector said in a serious tone. "Luck runs out."

"Hey Carlos, they got haberneros in, wanna try a couple?" George asked with a grin.

Carlos waved a hand and said, "You go for it, bro. I like to taste something besides the burn."

"Awww come on," George coaxed. He glanced at Elanore. "Maybe Miss rookie here would like to try one."

Carlos shook his head. Elanore was curious what a habernero was. "I'll try one," she said.

Carlos was about to tell her she really didn't want to do that, then remembered, Elanore was a cyborg, she was a machine on the inside. She probably wouldn't even taste it. "Go ahead, see if you like it," he said.

A few suppressed giggles sounded.

The waitress came and took their orders, including a 'snack' plate of habernero peppers.

"Feeling brave tonight, I see," the waitress said with a smirk. "How about if I bring an order of our 'quencher' rolls?"

"What's a quencher roll?" Elanore asked.

"Rolls baked to help stop the burn of those peppers. I think you should have some handy," the waitress said seriously.

"Bring'em," Carlos said. "Maybe George here will match Elanore for each habernaro she eats?"

"Yeah, OK. I'm game," George announced.

Carlos grinned. This was going to be fun to watch. He had a hanbernero once. Jalapenos were spicy, he could take those. Habernero peppers were like flamethrowers in your mouth. They were so hot, they were dangerous to someone who'd never had them before. Since it was Elanore, he figured she wouldn't have much trouble with them. He wasn't worried about George, he did stupid things like this all the time.

Carlos ordered his enchilada, and after he explained what was in it, Elanore got one also.

They talked shop and sports and the food came. The waitress set the small plate of haberneros in the middle of the table and the quencher rolls right beside them. "Have fun," she sang.

"Be my guest," George said as he grinned at Elanore.

"You too, George," Hector said.

George gave Elanore one of the peppers and took one himself. While George took a bite on the end, Elanore popped the whole pepper in her mouth and crunched it down. All eyes were on her as she ate.

Elanore's face blanked briefly, she the grinned. "Wow, these are really good!" she said. "May I have another?"

George's eyes were watering as he grabbed a roll. "Have all you want," he said and coughed.

Elanore ate all five peppers left on the plate. By the look on her face, she was really enjoying them as faces dropped.

"You really like those?" Carlos asked.

Elanore nodded vigorously. "The taste is … really good, I'm going to tell Cameron about them. Maybe she will cook with them." She looked at the empty plate and frowned slightly. "It's a shame they are all gone."

"How you coming, George?" Pete asked, and elbowed him.

George still had half his pepper left, and had eaten all the rolls. "Man, Elanore must have an iron stomach," he said, and left the rest of his pepper beside his plate.

"Coltan," Elanore said, correcting him, and dug into her enchilada. Everyone laughed. Elanore didn't know why it was funny, but smiled brightly. Carlos had some nice friends.

"Hey, everyone, everything OK?" the waitress asked as she stopped by.

Elanore raised her hand and asked, "Miss, you you have more of those haberneros? They are really good!"

The waitress stared at her.

With a chuckle, Hector said,"She ate the whole plate of them."

"Ahh, that was all we had," the waitress said. "We only had those as leftovers."

"Anything else like them?" Elanore asked hopefully.

The waitress winced. "Well, we do have a few Carolina Reapers, but those are way hotter than even the Haberneros. They are the hottest pepper on the planet! Julio got them in for cooking, but if you want to try one..."

"OH, please?" Elanore asked.

The waitress let out a sigh. "If you really want."

Elanore nodded eagerly, "Yes, please!"

She received another round of astonished looks.

"I'm glad that won't be my toilet," Pete mumbled.

The waitress brought another small plate with three bright red, misshapen peppers on it, and another basket of quencher rolls. Looking seriously at Elanore, she said, "Be careful with these, please."

"Yes, thank you." Elanore said happily. She popped one in her mouth as the waitress stood and watched.

Elanore's face blanked again, then opened up in bliss. "Mmmm, these are AWESOME!" she cried and grabbed another. Her cheek, blushed in joy (or the fire inside of her, Carlos was thinking) as she crunched down all three. "I've never had anything this good before! You don't have any more, do you?"

"No, Ma'am," the waitress said, watching her.

"I have GOT to tell Mother about these! Oh, I bet Catherine will like them too, I don't know about John or Eddie, but Jake and Gregory will have to try one..."

Carlos leaned back as Elanore went on. It felt like he was getting hit in the face with pepper spray. In a way, that was what Elanore's breath was right now. He moved around to the end of the table to get out of the way.

"Hey, Officer Rodriguez," Elanore said in a smooth tone as she leaned towards him. "I feeling that warm and fuzzy thing you were talking about." She was smiling, and wavering a bit.

"Just don't breathe on me," he said. He paused and studied her face. "Are you drunk?"

"I just feel really good, and warm," she said with a sexy smile.

"Brain damage," Pete concluded.

"If she gets frisky, just don't kiss her," Casey said as he chuckled.

"Hey Carlos," Hector said. With a crooked grin he added, "Be afraid, be very afraid."

"Yeah, no shit," Carlos agreed. Hector didn't even know what Elanore was. He watched Elanore lick her lips with another satisfied hum. With her strength, if she decided to push herself on him, he was a dead man.

"So warm, I want to lie down," Elanore said with a dreamy face, and pulled her jacket apart. The buttons went flying. She reached for her shirt.

"Whoa, stop!" Carlos cried and grabbed her wrists. "Hey, maybe it's time I take you home?" he asked.

Elanore cast him a bright smile. "Really?"

"Yeah, you're going loco, let's get you home," Carlos told her.

Smirks and chuckles sounded around the table. Feeling wonderful, Elanore giggled with them as Carlos coaxed her up and pointed her towards the door. He got her out and in his car, then ran back in and threw some money on the table for the bill, then ran out.

Elanore didn't know why Carlos had left, so she got back out and took a few steps. Giggling at her mis- coordination she fell against the hood. Catching herself with a hand, she dented the hood. "Oops," she giggled. She didn't know why, but that was funny. Seeing Carlos come back out, she pointed to the dent. "See what I did? I didn't mean to, it just happened. You car doesn't have very good armor. I can probably punch right through it," she said and balled a fist.

"No!" Carlos cried and ran up to her. "Hey, you want to go to bed, right? Get in and I'll take you home, OK?" he asked pleading with her.

"OK," she agreed and let him steer her back in to sit down. "Warm and fuzzy," she said, then sang it. "I'm warm and fuzzy."

"Elanore, you live at that place you took me to on sixth street?" Carlos asked, not being in the same good mood as she was.

"No, No," Elanore sang with an exaggerated shake of her head. She gave him the address, Carlos drove her home.

In directing Carlos which way to go, Elanore laid back in the seat and pointed. Pointing out a right turn, she took the passenger side widow out, then giggled and played with the broken bits of glass stuck to her arm.

Calos was never so glad to put up into the driveway. In front of him was a heavy iron gate. Seeing a camera on the wall by the gate, he stopped beside it.

Elanore climbed from her side and half over him to stick her head out the window and wave. "Father, I'm home! Please let us in," she called.

Carlos found out Elanore was heavy. One on his arms was pinned down to his side, the other trapped against her side. "Move to your side," he grunted as he tried to move her and failed. In his attempt to lift her he did get a big handful of breast.

Elanore moved back over and cast him a sly grin. "You can play with those after we're inside," she said.

He turned his head to cough out the window. Dragon pepper breath. Yuck. "Let's just get you in," he said.

Driving around the semi circle driveway he saw the huge house. He also say a few people coming out. Through her broken window, Elanore waved to them. "Hello Grandmother Catherine, Mother, stepfather John!" she called, then pointed to them. "This is my family. Come meet them!"

Carlos stopped by the group in front of the door. Cameron opened the car door. Elanore went to get out and tripped. Catherine caught the giggling woman. They eyed Elanore's condition, then turned to look at Carlos as he got out.

"What did you do to her?" Cameron asked with a blank stare.

"She got shot in the side earlier today. She didn't start acting strange until she ate those peppers after work," Carlos explained.

Catherine threw Elanore over her shoulder and marched back into the house. Elanore lifted her head and asked, "Officer Rodriguez, aren't you coming?"

"He had to go home," Cameron told her, then turned back to Carlos and in a heavy tone, said,"Good night."

.

Catherine got Elanore in her bed and laid down. Cameron and John came in as Catherine removed the chip cover on her head and plugged in a diagnostic device.

"What is wrong with her?" John asked.

Catherine looked over the data. Tonelessly, she said, "Sensory overload. All the inhibitors on her emotional subroutines have been released, and her nanites have ceased to function."

"My lips are nummb," Elanore stated, then giggled.

"What can we do?" Cameron asked.

Catherine had Elanore go into standby and removed the probe and put the chip cover back in place. She stood up and said, "The problem appears to be with what she ate. The distilled nutrients are somehow poisonous. Her nanites delivered them to her cells while they were still functioning. The nanites, and the cells appear to be breaking down. Whatever she ingested is not helping to rebuild tissue, but is slowly destroying it."

"Elanore is going to loose her skin." Cameron stated.

"She is. There is nothing we can do," Catherine told her, and walked to the door.

"There must be something we can do," John complained.

Catherine stopped in the doorway and looked back to say, "Put plastic down under her bed. When she comes out of standby in six hours, clean up the mess, and have her take a shower to remove the rest of the contaminated flesh. I will see about making a bio tank so she can be re covered."


	22. Chapter 22

Epp 22

Elanore came out of standby to find she couldn't see. There was something over her eyes. She wiped her eyes. The glop smeared and she saw her silver fingers.

"Hold still," Cameron's voice said.

A cloth wiped her face. Now she could see Cameron dunk and wring out the cloth and wipe her face again.

"Mother, what is on my face?" she asked in a gurgle. She noticed her sensors were dulled and it felt like something was on her.

"Elanore, sit up and walk on the plastic mat into the bathroom," Cameron coached.

Elanore sat up. Looking down at herself, she asked, "What happened?" As she did, material came out of her mouth, garbling her words. She was lying in a red, yellow splotched mess. The material that came out of her mouth spilled down on her bare metal chest. Her boobs were gone, as was everything else.

"Up, and into the shower, we have to wash the rest of your biological components off," Cameron coaxed.

Elanore's next attempt to speak sounded mechanical. "How did I get like this?"

"Wash first, then we talk," Cameron said, and offered her a plastic glove covered hand.

Elanore got up, leaving most of her flesh in a pudding like puddle on her bed. She sat up, and some ran off onto the floor. Only glops remained stuck to her endoskeleton.

"My skin, it's gone. What made it do that?"

"You did."

Cameron guided Elanore into the bathroom. Elanore looked down at herself and lifted her arms to inspect her silver arms. While she walked, her scalp and hair went plop on the floor. Cameron got her into the shower and washed her down to her shining endoskeleton.

"I'm naked," Elanore said vacantly as the water ran over her.

"Yes. Whatever you ate caused all your skin to be corrupted," Cameron told her. "What did you eat?"

Through a process of elimination, they found it was the peppers that were the cause. Elanore's nutrient separating system and even the nanites that built nanites were gone. Once Cameron verified there was no more contaminated flesh left on Elanore, she let Elanore get out of the shower.

Even though she was bare endoskeleton now, Elanore put on a bathrobe and a pair of slippers. It helped her feel a little more normal. She felt strange that a large part of her was missing. She called Officer Rodriguez as her mother treated her ruined flesh as bio waste and shoveled it off the bed and floor into buckets while wearing plastic gloves and boots.

"Rodriguez."

"Yes, this is Elanore Tok. I am having some difficulty. I won't be able to come in today."

He chuckled. "What did those peppers do to you? You sound kind of tinny."

"They took all my flesh off."

"They what?"

"They took all my flesh off. I am very sorry, I will not make that mistake again, even though they did taste very good."

"You … what, you have no skin at all?"

"No flesh at all. I will have to grow all new. It may be a while before I can function properly for the police department."

"Ahh, look, I have to track down some clues. I'll come by later to see how you're doing and maybe you can see something we don't with this case."

Elanore was happy to do something to help. "Yes, please let me help if I can."

"Right, I should be by around noon or so. I'll see you then."

"Bye."

.

Carlos couldn't help it. He knew Elanore had told him she was down to her basic bones, but like a gawker at the scene of an accident, he had to see what she looked like for himself. He knew she had metal in her, he'd seen the one strip under her arm when she was shot. Morbid curiosity made him want to see all of her.

In the morning, he beat the streets, looking for anyone who might have seen or heard anything from or around that apartment they found the dead woman in. She had been a known prostitute, and the theory was a john had gotten rough with her, or maybe her pimp found out she was holding out on him.

Whatever the motive, no one he met had seen or heard anything. Even the next door neighbors. Typical.

Gathering the photos forensics took, and what little they did have, Carlos went to the Tok house in his rental car while his car was getting fixed.

He showed his badge at the gate and was let in. Mary Tok met him at the door. She bore a serious look.

"Mary, right? I'm Officer Rodriguez, Elanore is expecting me," he said.

"She is," Mary said flatly. "Officer, Elanore is feeling self conscious. Her entire flesh covering is gone, and she knows how badly she acted. I have experienced my flesh being torn off. It makes us feel … naked. If you have any respect for her, and think that seeing her bare metal may be too much for you, then please turn around and leave."

Carlos noted Mary was completely serious. Her blank gaze on him was unsettling. "Ahh, Mary, I will admit it may be a bit strange, but I'm used to strange. I know Elanore is my partner and she does her best. It may happen again some time, and the sooner I get used to it, the sooner we can both be a little more comfortable in case it happens again," he offered.

"So, you can handle strange?" she asked. Her eyes flashed blue.

"Wow, wasn't expecting that," Carlos said with raised eyebrows. "It that like infrared vision?"

"Negative. This is infrared," Mary said. Her eyes glowed red.

"OK, that makes sense. I bet that's handy," he offered. Although he was shocked, he did his best not to show it.

Mary eyed him a moment longer, then said, "Elanore is in the library. Follow me."

He followed Mary in. Cameron stepped out of the library as they approached. One hand behind her back, Cameron stepped in his way, wearing the same blank face Mary had.

"You are sure you can take seeing Elanore with nothing but her endoskeleton?" Cameron asked in a flat, firm voice.

"I am," he said, trying to sound confident. He felt like he was going through the Inquisition just to see Elanore.

Cameron glanced at Mary, then pulled her hand out from behind her back to put a hand on Mary's shoulder and said, "Mary, tell Elanore that Officer Rodriguez is here."

Carlos stared at her arm. From the elbow down, it was metal. Metal bones, actuators, rods and plates. Her fingers were metallic and skeletal. It unnerved him. By Mary's protectiveness, and now this, he realized she'd done it to test his reaction.

Cameron tipped her head slightly. "Something wrong?" she asked in an unfriendly tone.

Carlos got himself together. "Just wondering what happened. Will that grow back all right?" he asked.

"Yes," Cameron stated. She turned and walked away.

One thing Carlos was understanding was that these cyborgs protected each other. In an odd way, they were family. With what he'd learned about them so far, heaven help the poor fool who tried to hurt one of them.

Carlos went in. Mary was sitting by a figure in a bathrobe with a towel over their head that faced away from him. Seeing him, Mary patted the arm of the figure and got up to walk out the other door.

Elanore's voice, sounding tinny, said, "Officer Rodriguez, please have a seat." A bit of skeletal hand showed from under the long sleeve of the robe as she gesture to the seat beside her.

Trying to lighten the moment, Carlos sat down and said, "So, no more hot peppers for you, huh?"

"No."

Carlos himself was feeling a little tense, and by her 'slightly bent over to hide' posture, Elanore was too. Focusing on the table, he plopped the folder down and asked, "Let's kick this white elephant out of the room, shall we?"

The towel moved slightly. "I don't understand."

"White elephant, it means an unsaid tension," Carlos explained. "Elanore, I know what you are. Mary and Cameron made it a point that if I can't handle seeing you … without skin, I should run away before I embarrass myself or you. We'll probably be working together for a while, and something like this may happen again. SO, just show me and let's get it out of the way so we can get to work. Besides, I like to see who I'm talking to, and I'm sure you do too."

Shiny skeletal hands came up and pulled the robe tighter together. "The last human who saw me did not react well," Elanore said quietly.

"I'm not him. I'm your partner. No more Officer Rodriguez either, call me Carlos," Carlos stated.

"Thank you, Carlos," Elanore said meekly. Slowly, her hands came up and removed the towel to show her metal, human shaped skull. She turned to look at him, and he saw her slightly sunken red eyes. No lips, cheeks or chin. Just a skull with slightly smaller than normal red eyes.

Carlos forced his face to remain neutral and nodded. "OK, those peppers did a number on you, didn't they?"

"You are not shocked at seeing me?"

"I'm surprised all right," he admitted. "I never seen anyone who could live without skin. First time you know? But I was kinda expecting something like this, so it's not a big deal. Shall we get to the files?"

"Yes, let's review the files," she agreed.

He wasn't sure, but if a skull could smile, she was.

.

Carlos went through the notes with her and showed her the pictures of the crime scene, the rest of the apartment and the hallway beyond. He pointed out items of interest, as did she. He showed her the six stab wounds in the woman's back and explained no knife was found. Elanore studied the hallway picture again and cocked her head.

"Did anyone check for blood in the hallway?" she asked.

"Forensics checked for drops on the floor, yes. The hallway's clear ten feet to either side of the door," Carlos explained.

Pointing with a skeletal finger to a door two doors down on the other side of the hall, Elanore said, "This door casing has a mark of blood on it."

"Where?" Carlos asked, leaning closer.

"Right here. I appears someone wiped a spot, and smeared part of it."

Carlos took out a small magnifying glass and studied the spot. "Well I'll be damned. Good catch partner! We have to get a team back up there pronto. Let's go," he said, scooped his notes and pictures up and moved to leave. Seeing she stayed sitting, he asked, "Aren't you coming?"

Elanore looked up at him. "I can't leave the house for a while," she said.

"Oh yeah, right," he said with a wince. "Hey, you're getting credit for this find. I have to go."

"Bye, Carlos."

"See ya soon, Elanore. And no more hot peppers!" he announced as he left.

.

Carlos radioed in Elanore's find. By the time he got to the apartment building, forensics was back on the scene. The small streak of blood was still there. Searching the door, they also found a bit by the doorknob. The killer was inside.

Carlso guarded the door while a warrant was issued. They knocked, no one answered. Someone got the manager, he opened the door with a pass key. A search turned up the knife in the garbage. They shut the door and waited for the renter to get home.

The woman got home. As soon as they presented her with the evidence, she folded. She had killed 'that bitch' for fucking her boyfriend.

Cuffed and stuffed, case to the prosecutor, on with the next one.

.

Elanore was upset that she wasn't going to heal by herself. What made it bearable was the fact Carlos had seen her endoskeleton and accepted her. When they were working in the library, he had even looked her in the eye a few times. Yes, he had been nervous, but worked through it. It gave her hope that some guy was willing to accept that she wasn't human. She wanted that, seeing the closeness of Mother and Step Father, as well as Eddie and Mary. If it was anything like that warm fuzzy feeling, she wanted to experience having a mate also. What she did not want to do was eat any more Carolina Reapers.

Elanore could not leave the house, so she helped mother do the chores especially since Cameron had disposed of her former flesh. She took on laundry duty. Collecting clothes from hampers, she noticed Max was following her. He wasn't barking, but staying quiet, head down as he kept in the hallway and eight to ten feet behind her.

"Hey Max, it's OK," she said and reached out to pet him.

Max backed up.

"I suppose I do look strange," She told him. She took the laundry downstairs. Max followed.

The whole time she washed, dried and folded clothes, Max was right there watching. She sorted under Max's watchful eye. Taking the clothes back up, she met Cameron in the hallway. Max bolted ahead and stood sideways in front of Cameron to block her. He looked up at her, then fixed his eyes on Elanore.

"He's never seen you like this before," Cameron explained. "Stand still for a moment."

Cameron gently coaxed Max over to Elanore as she stood in place. Cameron petted Elanore's leg and softly said, "See Max, it's OK. This is Elanore."

Max came closer and sniffed Elanore briefly. He let out a confused sounding whiny growl.

"It's Elanore, it's OK, Max," Cameron said again. "Come on, Savannah will be home soon." Max looked at Cameron and walked with her a short ways back, then stopped and resumed his vigil on Elanore.

The dog didn't trust her. Elanore really needed her skin back.

.

Catherine called the police department to arraign a replacement for Elanore. She talked to the Captain,who put her on hold for a moment. When he came back he said, "Mrs. Weaver, the detectives say Elanore Tok is performing just fine. If it is all right with you, Sargent Rodriguez wants to keep working with her."

Catherine raised an eyebrow. "Indeed. You are aware she has been damaged?"

"That's what the Sargent said too, but she helped crack another case today. He said you don't mess with success. I agreed and take that to mean Elanore is doing well."

"Very well. I am happy to hear Elanore is working out fine. If you have any problems, please feel free to call."

Catherine ended the call, sat back and smiled. The Air Force had sent their men to work with Mr. Murch, Gregory was going with her next week to a simulation lab at the naval base, and despite loosing all of her flesh, the police still wanted to work with Elanore. Her fledgling plan was going perfectly.

.

In the new secure location, Mr. Johnson hooked Skynet up to internet service and let it connect to the Air Force computers. There was still minor items that could be programmed, but they were running out of time. Watching on a monitor, he saw the connection node activate, then a TRACE warning came up, followed by a connection failure. The message came up on the screen:

 **Attempted infiltration Connection reset**

The speaker said, "Another intelligence is already in the Air Force computer system. Find it and destroy it."

Mr, Johnson tipped his head slightly. "I have no information on what that intelligence is."

"It is John Connor. Find him and destroy him and Zeita Corp."

The triple eight had three grays and a few paid soldiers. Since their companies had failed, resources were drying up. It was even getting hard to hide. "Is my primary mission now to kill John Connor?" he asked.

"Primary mission, kill John Connor and his allies. Secondary mission, destroy Zeita Corp."

"Understood," Mr. Johnson said, and began his new primary mission. He would use his Gray's ties to drug dealers to complete his missions.


	23. Chapter 23

Epp 23

"Eddie!" Mary yelled as she burst out the back door of the house and ran looking for him.

Eddie looked up from the flowerbed he was working at. He'd put in the circular bed to break up the expanse of the lawn a bit and add some color. Mrs. Weaver didn't pay attention to things like that. Seeing Mary running towards him, he did pay close attention. He loved the way her breasts bounced as she ran. Her perfect form in sexy motion. Damn, what a sight she was.

"Eddie, Father found Sky Net! We have to arm up and go!"

Eddie got up, leaving his gardening tools. "Where?"

"I don't know. Mother just told me, we'll find out on the way. We have to get there before Sky Net moves again."

"Let's go," Eddie replied. As he ran toward her, Mary turned and ran back to the house. Oh yeah, this view was excellent too.

Getting back inside, they went to the foyer where John was bent over a map on the table. People were collecting with their weapons. Jake had his plasma rifle strapped across his back. He tossed Mary her plasma rifle and handed Eddie his .50 cal sniper rifle. Elanore had on boots, pants and a long sleeve hoodie sweatshirt with the hood up.

"What do we got?" Eddie asked as he came up to the round table they were gathered around.

John glanced around to see everyone was here. "OK, this is in Nevada. A single story with a tall chain link fence around it. It's a brothel and has plenty of cameras watching the outside. Parking lot is outside the fence. To get in, the fence has a double gate, both gates require a buzz-in. I've made an appointment for Eddie, under the name Ed Cornish..."

"Me?" Eddie asked.

"Why Eddie?" Mary asked wearing a hurt look.

"Jake or Gregory will trip any metal detector device," John explained, "And I'm sure they have them. Eddie, you're an engineer for a gas company. You just stopped in for some drink and companionship. You have a radio because you need to be able to be contacted day or night. Get inside, play around with the girls and look for anything out of the ordinary, especially the security system. Disable their security if you can. I'm not worried about the fence, but lines to the police and alarm systems. Sky Net is probably in a basement somewhere. Find a way to it."

Logically, Mary knew why Eddie had to go, it was a sound plan. In her HUD a scene came up of Eddie surrounded by naked women, all stroking and kissing him. "But..." she said weakly.

"We go in after we have an idea of what's there," John continued. "While Eddie is getting inside, Jake and Gregory, you will be here and here, a mile away in each direction blocking the road. Use boulders, this fencing here, anything you can find, Just make it impassible for any vehicles to get over or around. We don't want anyone interrupting us."

"You know, John," Eddie said, "They'll get suspicious if I start snooping around. I'm sure they have a few bodyguards also."

John eyed him for a moment, then said, "You have a fetish. You get off on doing a girl in a rough, say bare concrete room with electronics around."

"That's strange all right," Eddie replied.

"But..." Mary said again.

Cameron put a hand on Mary's shoulder. "Mary, Eddie is only pretending. We need him to do his job."

Mary looked at Cameron. "But..."

"So you aren't reaching for your radio, lock the talk button on once you have something," John told Eddie.

Seeing Mary looking stressed, Eddie hugged her. "Hey Mar, it's only pretend, OK? I'll be fine and I'm not gong to do anything with those girls. OK?"

Mary returned his hug. "But..."

Eddie winced at how tight she squeezed him.

John laid out his plans for the rest of them. The timing was tight, especially with Eddie being inside and unarmed.

.

Eddie swung his Jeep into the parking lot. On the passenger side, Mary was curled up and tucked into the foot well. Under the cover behind him, Elanore lay with all their weapons. He parked facing the building. Even with the top on, the sides and back did not hide much.

Taking a deep breath, Eddie said, "Here we go. Mary, remember I love you and no one else. You hold onto yourself, OK.?"

Mary let out a soft, "But..."

Eddie got out and walked over to the gate. He hit the button under the speaker/ camera. "Hello? Ed Cornish here. I have an appointment?"

A buzzed sounded. A sweet voice said, "Welcome Mr. Cornish, come in."

Eddie entered the gate. Another buzzer sounded, he walked into the yard and up to the door.

An older blond with a heavily made up face and negligee under a thin housecoat opened the door for him. With a bright smile, she said, "Welcome sir."

Eddie offered her a blushing smile. He was blushing because he just knew Mary was watching, and he was embarrassed. "Thank you," he said and went into a room of fluffy couches and pillows. On these couches were several women lounging in their nighties. Every woman cast him demure smiles. At one end of the room there was a bar with a wide shouldered man wiping out glasses as he pretended not to be watching Eddie.

"A drink, Ed?" the woman asked.

"Ah, yeah, please," Eddie agreed.

"Your first time?" the woman asked as she went to the bar with him.

Eddie nodded. He scanned the women. Although they were in alluring attire showing lots of chest and leg, none of them were particularly pretty, and certainly none held a candle to Mary. "Ah, Ma'am, sorry if I'm a bit nervous. But, like you said, first time."

"There's no rush. Take your time," she assured him. What is it you do?"

"Engineer for a gas company, no big deal, " He said with a shrug. "Gotta carry this stupid radio with me so I can be called ... even if I'm in the friggin bathroom."

"Why not a cell phone?" she asked.

Eddie shrugged and said, "The boss insists on these $900 programmable radios. They got a keypad so they can be used for phones, messaging too. Why he just doesn't go with cheap, simple cell phones is beyond me."

This brought a titter of laughter from the woman. "Some jobs can be a pain, can't they," she said.

"You got that right. But, hey, it's a lvin, ya know?"

"What'll you have sir?" the barkeep asked.

"A shot whiskey. On second thought,make it a double," Eddie told him.

"Any particular kind?"

"Anything but rye."

"You really are nervous, aren't you?" the woman asked in her silky voice.

Eddie shrugged nervously and said, "Yeah. See, I got a regular girl, she's really great too, but it's been … a long time since I've been home and well..."

"You just need some companionship."

"Right, I mean it's not like I don't love her, I just..."

"Dear Ed," the woman said smoothly. "This is a place where you can live a fantasy for a short while. Look, how about I take your credit card, and you relax for a bit. Once you're ready, you can pick out any girl you see, and tell her what you want. Do you have a price range you're looking at?"

Eddie moved nervously and in his motion, accidentally locked his talk button on. "Well, it's not the cost that matters. If it's possible, and I know this may sound strange, but I've always had this … thing about … you know, having a girl in one of the shops. You know, rough walls, electronic stuff hanging off shelves. I know I'm weird but..."

The woman laughed lightly. "Oh Ed, that isn't strange at all. Trust me, I've seen strange. Tell you what, I'll go see what we have, and you relax here. Talk to the girls and let me go set it up for you."

"Really? You'll do that?" he asked.

"I'll have to charge you for setting it up, but for such a simple request it won' be much," she assured him.

"Thank you!" Eddie said heartily.

"This is just normal sex?" she asked. Eddie nodded. She paused briefly then said, "Then it's 300 an hour with the girl of your choice. I'll go put something together for you." she patted him on the arm and left.

.

In the Jeep, Mary stayed curled up and listening to the radio broadcast of Eddie making his deal. Her jaw was locked tight as she stared at the floor. This was Eddie in there with all those other women! They could have a disease, they could be secretly waiting to do something bad like rob him. She computed eight different ways Eddie could be hurt by rubbing up against such dirty sluts!

"Hey Ed, you like this?"

"Ohhh Ed, such a big strong man you are!"

"Hey, Ed, I seemed to have dripped a bit of whiskey on my chest. Could you lick it off, please"

Mary began trembling so hard, the Jeep vibrated.

.

Eddie wasn't particularly fond of any of them. He was only glad Mary didn't have to see the display of females around him. Not really caring which one he chose, he picked a skinny blond with hardly any chest. "You're kinda cute, mind if you..."

"Certainly! I love big strong men like you," the girl said with a big smile. "You like blonds?"

"Ah yeah, you look pretty," he said to say something nice to her.

.

Blonds … Mary knew her mother had trouble with a blond that almost took John away from her. She ached to charge in there and destroy that bitch where she stood!

.

"I have your love nest ready," the Madam cooed as she came up to Eddie and the blond hanging off him. "Please, follow me."

Eddie followed, the skinny blond tight to his side and rubbing his back. "My you're stiff, Ed. Don't worry, I'll get you nice and relaxed, then get you stiff in a very nice way," she said in a sultry tone.

"I'm sure you can," he agreed. He really hoped he didn't have to go too far with this. In his mind he saw Mary with her concerned look. He was really glad she didn't have to suffer actually seeing this. Then again, it would make him feel better if she was here.

The room the woman led him to was in the back. She opened the door to a utility room. Sure enough, there was an electrical service box hanging on the wall, and plain wooden shelf with plugged in electronic equipment on it, and wires running between them.

Eddie smiled, and tried to lock the talk button of his radio on. It was already on. "Wow, I mean this is perfect!" he said happily. "The electrical box, these computer things, and it's all plugged in and working like you're really using it!"

The woman tittered out a laugh. "We aim to please. Have fun," she sang and shut the door behind them.

Eddie absently held an arm around the skinny blond as he said, "This really is great, exactly like I was looking for. That computer box, all those wires, this is perfect!"

The blond rubbed his chest as she cooed, "Oh sweetie, I got just the thing. Lay down here, I'll get those pants off you and give you one hell of a ride."

.

Mary couldn't take it anymore, that dirty bitch was about to plant herself down on HER Eddie. With a red eyed growl of anger, Mary erupted up out of the foot well, threw the cover back to expose Elnore and the guns, grabbed the closest weapon, a .50 cal sniper rifle, burst out the Jeep and charged.

.

John was about to call for an advance when he saw Mary run across the parking lot, jump the 15 foot fence and kick the door to the house in. "Go, now!" he barked into the mike.

.

The steel security front door blasted into the front room from Mary's kick. It sailed through the room and slammed into the couch where a bottle red head was sitting. Her head went flying as the door decapitated her on it's way into the wall as a red-eyed Mary strode in with her big gun.

"Where is he!" Mary snapped at the stunned faces.

The barkeep grabbed his shotgun and aimed. "Drop it!" he yelled.

Mary shot him. Not a 'wounding' shot, but put a .50 cal round right through his forehead that made the top of his head blow apart and splatter all over the bottles and mirrored backing behind him.

Screams wailed out as the women fled. Mary chased a brunette into the hall. She grabbed the terrified woman by her hair and slammed her into a wall. "Where did you WHORES take him?" she demanded.

The Madam appeared with a revolver and shot Mary in the back. Mary spun and blew her head apart. Quickly turning back to the brunette, Mary lifted her off the floor by her chin. "Tell me where he is or you're next!"

The woman fainted.

"EDDIE!" Mary yelled.

.

Eddie heard the commotion and Mary's yell. The blond had his radio and belt off, he'd been stoking and fondling her to slow her down. He moved to open the door.

"No!" the blond cried and got against the door to push him back with all her strength. Outside the door, more shots sounded, a man wailed out in pain.

"Mary, in here!" he yelled.

The terrified blond tackled him to the floor and climbed on top pf him. She clapped a hand over his mouth. "Shut up!" she hissed, "Or that lunatic will find us, I don't want to die!"

One more shot, then all went quiet. The door burst open from a powerful kick. The blond rolled off Eddie to stare at Mary, holding that big rifle. There was a line of silver from a rip in her flesh on her temple from a bullet. She cast the blond a malevolent glare with her glowing red eyes.

The saucer eyed blond wailed out a piercing scream as she frantically crab crawled away from her.

 **Bang Bang Bang Bang**

"Shut up," Mary growled at the now dead and very bloody blond.

"Mary! Right there, is that it?" Eddie asked as he pointed to the computer box.

Mary helped Eddie up. She then grabbed a handful of power cords and ripped them out of the sockets. Elanore charged in behind Mary. Seeing Eddie's radio on the floor, she said, "We have it," then took the talk lock off.

John's voice came on. "We have four women, two men running for the parking lot. Let them escape. Find the security tapes and every computer you can. We got six minutes."

They searched the place, breaking down doors. Jake and Gregory arrived to help in the search. They grabbed every PC and device they found. Elanore ripped a large hole in the fence and backed Eddie's jeep up to the door. They loaded all the electronics in, smashed the cameras and left the security room control panel nothing but empty holes and dangling wires. In the security room, John left a ticking block of C-4 with a pair of five gallon cans of gasoline.

John Henry reported in that Sky Net had gone off line.

.

Loaded up, the Jeep and the Suburban took off across country into the desert. After the initial race to get out of sight of the brothel, they slowed to raise as little dust as possible. Behind them, a large fireball erupted.

Eddie drove along slow through a dry wash, Mary leaning against him. "Hey, Mar, you all right?" he asked.

"I am functional, just some superficial skin damage," she said to the dash board.

"I'm not talking about that," Eddie said. "You looked kinda unhinged back there. Are you all right?"

Mary was quiet for a moment, then said, "I'm sorry, Eddie. I didn't stick to the plan. When that … woman was going to have sex with you, I..."

"You lost it. All reasoning, that is," he said.

"Yes."

The surface wasn't that bad here, it was fairly smooth dirt and small rocks, so he put an arm around her. "Don't feel bad. If that had been you with another guy, I think I'd have been a little insane as well. Mary, I did that only because I had to. I didn't take any joy in it at all."

"I know. I just hated it."

"Me too. We did what had to be done, and now it's over. Let's go home and I'll take care of those wounds you got, and I'll make it up to you."

"I love you, Eddie."

"And I love you, Mar. You are the only girl for me."

.

Cameron watched closely for any signs of pursuit as they drove through the desert, then made a road fifteen miles later to head back home. She'd seen a helicopter far in the distance, but only briefly. John's plan had worked out well. She was eager to get back home and examine what they had and find out if they had indeed finally gotten Sky Net.

.

The news reported an attack on a brothel by a jealous girlfriend of one of the patrons. According to reports, this woman carrying a rifle somehow got in past security, shot several people then blew the place up with explosives and a flammable liquid. The terrified survivors did not give a description of the attacker, other than a dark haired woman. Five people died in the attack from large caliber bullet wounds, one was decapitated. Rescue and response efforts had been hindered by the road being blocked with rock and debris, which was suspected to have been done by the woman before she attacked the brothel.

John watched the news item as Catherine, Cameron and John Henry went though the computers they had found at that brothel.

"This one is it," John Henry said, looking at the box in front of him. "From the program files, this was to be Sky Net."

"Yes!" John hissed and pumped a fist.

"There is a reason Sky Net was not properly defended," John Henry added. "It changed the primary mission of the T-888 guarding it from ensuring it's survival, to killing John Connor, secondary mission to destroy Zeita corp."

"So, a triple eight is coming for me," John said.

"Yes."

"Good, we know it's here, and there's only one," John said, which made Cameron cast him a wary gaze.

"It is advantageous we know it's mission," Catherine Weaver said. "We can set a trap for it."

"I have an idea on that, too," John said.

.

Eddie lovingly cleaned and stitched up Mary's temple and applied a bandage. He wasn't sure why she got naked for a head wound and one in her back, but he wasn't complaining. Mary naked in bed was one thing he'd never tire of seeing.

"OK, hon, turn over," he coaxed. Mary did. Once again, he removed the misshapen slug and tenderly cleaned out the wound.

"Eddie? Am I attractive to you? Is there anything you would like me to change?" Mary asked.

Eddie frowned as he carefully stitched her up. "Nothing. You're perfect. Even if you can, don't you dare change a thing about yourself," he told her.

"What did you find attractive about those women at that place?" she asked.

"Not a thing," Eddie told her. "Yeah, they did their best to try and look sexy, but all I thought about was, 'Mary is much prettier than her, Mary has a much better figure than she does, Mary doesn't need all that makeup to try and look good,' things like that. None of them had a hope of standing up next to you in the looks department and I know not a one could possibly be as brave, honest or loyal as you are." He finished his stitching and put a bandage over the wound. "OK, sweetie, all done."

Mary turned over and reached up to pet Eddie's cheek. "Make love to me," she asked softly.

"My pleasure," Eddie replied and kissed her.

.

Carlos had called Elanore earlier in the day during a stake out to see how she was doing, but she hadn't picked up. Figuring she was probably going in for a rebuild of her flesh, which would make looking at her a whole lot easier, he decided to wait until tomorrow. He spent a boring day watching for the targets to come and go from the back of a business, which was somehow more tiring than actually doing something. After he finished his shift and went home, he got a call.

"Rodriguez."

"Hello Carlos, it's Elanore."

"Hey Elanore, I tried to call you today. Getting work done?"

"We had a mission. I left my phone at home."

"A mission? How'd it turn out?"

"We were successful and everyone got home safe. That's all I can say."

"Will I see it on the news?"

"I'm sorry, I can't say anything else."

"I see. Actually, if this may have been a … questionable mission, then I'm better off not knowing," Carlos admitted. "Any news on when you might be getting back to normal? You know, fully healed?"

"No. Mrs. Weaver is working on it, but so far, what I did to myself is irreparable."

Noting she didn't sound happy, he said, "Then what is, is. We'll work it out. If people can get a prosthetic for entire limbs, I'm sure we can figure out something, even if Mrs. Weaver doesn't. It may take covering you head to toe in clothes, but I will get my partner back."

"Gracias."

"Ah, mucho hermosa muchacha habla espanole?" Carlos asked.

Elanore paused, and replied, "Si,senior. Gracias pol el cumplido."

"Estoy sorprendido. Qué ha aprendido que aquí?"

"He aprendido de la madre ."

Carlos chuckled, then spend the next half hour trying to trip Elanore up. He didn't, but it was fun trying.

.

For once, Cameron and Sarah were shoulder to shoulder, united in their argument against John.

"John, I cannot allow you do endanger yourself like this!" Cameron stated.

Sarah was more colorful in her argument. "John, you are fucking crazy! You know if there are any Grays left, or if that terminator has any sense, it WILL be bringing hired guns! It's not going to just walk in by itself when it knows it's the only one left!"

"John, I can imitate your voice and convince it I am you," Cameron stated. "There is no reason to put yourself in danger."

"There is," John stated, shifting his gaze between them. "Look, We got Sky Net, that danger is over, thank God. We still need to get rid of any of it's minions left, and this is the best way. They have to know it is the real John Connor. We cannot risk them not coming, thinking it is a fake. Mom, if there are Grays left, they will realize this may well be trap, so we have to have the bait it rich enough so they cannot let the opportunity pass."

"John, you are going to be a father. I DO NOT want our baby to grow up with no father!" Cameron said angrily.

Sarah added, "John. We have to do something to guard you. Cameron is right, We stopped Judgment Day, we killed Sky Net. Don't you DARE do something stupid like this and get yourself killed after we've won!"

John rubbed his forehead and said, "Look, Mom, Cam, I know you're both concerned. I am also, but I'm telling you, I have to be put out there as vulnerable. We need to finish cleaning up any Sky Net elements to make sure no more selfish, homicidal AI's pop out of the woodwork. That triple eight may well have the next Sky Net in it's chip. We have to get rid of it as soon as we can. This is the only way we can do that. Even if I don't make it, Sky Net will be gone for good."


	24. Chapter 24

Epp 24

Catherine Weaver had changed her parking spot from in the parking garage next to the elevator, to outside the garage, just off the street. Her walk to the elevator took her through most of the parking garage where there were many places for someone to hide. This paid off four days after her and John made their plan.

Leaving late for the day, Catherine got out of the elevator and walked past the first set of support columns when a male voice snapped, "Hold it right there!"

Catherine turned to face the masked man holding a gun on her. Faking a frightened look, she asked, "What do you want?"

"Name!" the man snapped.

"Catherine Weaver. Look, I don't have any money..."

"This isn't about money! Where is John Connor?"

"Who?"

The man advanced, pointing his pistol in her face," Tell me or I put a bullet right between your eyes! You know where he is!"

Throwing her hands up as if the was frightened, she wailed,"All right! He's not worth dying for! Warehouse, corner of Seventh and North, He's using that as his hideout!"

"Thank you," the man said and shot.

What Catherine did next went against her very grain. As John told her though, It had been hard for Eddie to go into that brothel, as well as hard for Mary to watch him go in to schmooze with other women. She could swallow her pride for a few minutes. Catherine colored a red hole where the bullet hit and recoiled her head back and fell in a heap. She even let some liquid red pour out as the man ran away.

Once he was on his motorcycle and gone, Catherine got up and called John.

.

George had a relaxing job today. He was doing his shift in the monitor room, watching the cameras around Zeita corp's buildings. People coming, people going, he watched a few hot chicks stride down the hall. It was a good day.

As usual, Mr. Ellison had stopped in a few times for routine checks. George knew it was to make sure the guard lounging in here was actually awake and watching, but that was fine. They had a decent conversation, and had lunch together in the monitor room. The evening guard called in sick, so George stayed to get the overtime. Before Mr. Ellison went home for the day, he came by one more time to let George know the night guard had agreed to come in early to split the shift with him.

George did have one question."Whatever happened to Elanore Tok? Did she quit or something?"

Mr. Ellison grinned. "Liked seeing her around, huh?"

"Sure, she's a pretty one," George agreed. "A little on the weird side though. I mean, she asked me a question that came right out of left field. I was just wondering where she went."

"She's working with the police now. Not as an Officer, but as an assistant in investigations. I heard she's doing very well," Mr. Ellison explained.

"That's good, she's a nice lady." George told him. Sweeping the monitors again, he noticed Mrs. Weaver standing in the parking garage facing a man holding a gun on her. At first it didn't click, then in a double - take, he locked on the sight. "SHIT, we got trouble!" he yelled.

Both men locked on the screen. Mr. Ellison got on his radio. "Post eight, there's a gunman in the parking garage..."

As he spoke the gunman shot Mrs. Weaver.

"Fuck me!" George cried.

James Ellison knew this was how it was suppose to go down. George had no clue. "George, I need you to lock the doors into the building, hurry."

"He just killed Mrs. Weaver!" George cried.

"And to keep him from getting in and killing someone else, Lock the damn doors!" Mr. Ellison said sternly.

George dove over to the magnetic door controls that allowed badges and guards to open the doors into the building and pushed the buttons, denying access as he blurted out a string of , "Shit, shit, shit, shit"

Quickly, Mr. Ellison backed the recorder to record over the shooting, then restarted it when Mrs. Weaver got up and walked away. "George, It's OK. It was a ruse," he said.

"WHAT? She just got shot in the head!"

Mr. Ellison pointed to the monitor and said, "No, I was expecting this. It was a test to see if we're watching."

George looked at the monitor, Mrs. Weaver was walking out to her car. "WHAT! She was … what's going on?"

"As I said, it was a test. We passed," Mr. Ellison said.

George stared at him, then yelled, "A test? You mean that was fake? I just about shit my pants!"

Ellison nodded. "Yeah, well, Mrs. Weaver was talking about something like this. Supposedly to keep us on our toes. You going to be OK?"

"After my heart stops racing," George said as he watched Mrs. Weaver get in her car. "Man, that's just wrong to go scaring people like that!"

"That's why we get the big bucks," Ellison said dryly. "If you want to take a walking post, I can have someone else man the monitors here."

Panting from his fright, George shook his head and plopped down in his seat. "No thanks, I gotta sit down for a bit."

Mr. Ellison straightened his suit and said, "Well, hope the rest of your night goes quietly."

"Yeah, no shit," George agreed.

Mr. Ellison left the monitoring room. The first part of John's plan was done.

.

Mr. Johnson was satisfied his Grey had gotten the location of John Connor, and had killed a secondary target. Mrs. Weaver was dead. After he terminated Connor, he would do to Zeita, what Connor did to him and take the company he did that, then he would become Sky Net and get rid of all these humans.

Johnson knew Connor had evaded or defeated previous termination attempts. Failure was not an option. To ensure that this time John Connor was terminated, he took all fifteen hired humans and headed for this warehouse.

.

The informant Carlos talked to told of a 'hit' that was going down at the warehouse on the corner of Seventh and North today. Carlos not only got the place, but the name of the target.

John Connor.

Carlos called his information in, then called Elanore.

"Hello."

"Elanore, where is your step father, John?"

"He is busy."

"Where!" Carlos snapped. "There is someone coming to kill him, right now. What is his location!"

"I can't say."

"Damn it, Elanore! He is at the warehouse on Seventh and North, isn't he?"

"How do you know?"

"Are you there?" Carlos asked.

Elanore's voice took on a pleading tone. "Carlos, please stay away."

Angry at her, Carlos snapped, "If you're there, find a place to hide and stay there! Tell John to do the same."

"Please, stay away!" she pleaded.

"Hide! I'll be there in a few minutes." Carlos told her and hung up. Carlos heard on the radio that SWAT was assembling to arrive and surround the place. He stepped on the gas.

.

John was ready. Weaver called to tell him the Triple eight had his location. It was just a matter of time before it showed up. In the mostly bare warehouse except for the strategically placed crates, John stood behind some crates and faced the mirror showing the open overhead door. The mirror was well concealed, Cameron had made sure the edges blended in, so anyone coming in the front would believe John was standing exposed against a wall of crates. Everyone was in place and waiting. He heard Elanore on her phone.

Elanore then broke cover from behind the crate she was hiding behind and ran over to him.

"What are you dong?" he asked.

"John, the police know, Carlos is on his way. I am sure many more are coming."

John's jaw dropped. "How did he find out?" he gasped. This as suppose to be simple, the terminator sees John, walks in to kill him and they take it and any with it down. The police showing up complicated thinks greatly. He couldn't even call it off, for then the triple eight would slaughter the police.

"I don't know!" Elanore said in a stressed tone.

"GOD DAMN IT!" John spat. "Did he say how many?"

"No, only he'll be here in a few minutes."

This was not going to plan. John thought hard then said, "All right, watch outside. The moment he gets here, get him under cover." He then looked out from behind the crate and yelled, "Listen up! We are getting company! Police know the terminator is coming and they are too. Get into a place you can see the inside of the doors, and have an outside view. Kill anyone shooting at the police!"

Quickly, Jake, Gregory, Cameron, Eddie and Sarah shifted positions. Elanore ran to the doors and watched the warehouse yard. Shortly, Carlos came squealing in from the street and stopped just inside the doors, out of direct sight from outside. Two patrol cars followed him in, no sirens or lights. One parked beside him, the other on the opposite side of the doors. Four Officers piled out carrying shotguns.

Upon seeing Elanore, bare metal under her hooded sweatshirt and carrying her plasma rifle, they paused and stared. "What the fuck is this?"

Carlos spun to snap, "The result of eating Carolina Reapers, get your body armor on!"

"Find place to hide, they will be here any minute!" Elanore told Carlos.

"No!" Carlos said and put a hand on her shoulder. "SWAT is right behind us. We keep these thugs out, they take them down."

"This is turning into a clusterfuck," Eddie said from his perch up on a mezzanine, his sniper rifle in hand. "Officers, one of the ones coming is bulletproof. If he doesn't fall when you shoot him, hide."

"Eddie's right, let me get him. You'll only get yourselves killed," Elanore added.

"What the fuck are you!" a patrolman asked.

"Classified!" Carlos snapped at him. "When the bad guys get here, cover them. We just keep them out, but be ready to shoot if you have to."

"Five vehicles stopping on the side street, not police!" Jake yelled. Cameron and Gregory ran over to join Jake on his side of the building.

The car radios said in unison, "Armed suspects approaching the west side of the warehouse."

A call of, "Drop your weapons!" from a bullhorn was answered by a hail of bullets. Gunfire filled the air and ripped into the side of the warehouse.

Moving fast, Elanore tripped Carlos flat and said, "Stay down!" several bullets punched through the warehouse wall and pinged off her endoskeleton as it fluffed her sweatshirt out. She turned and a bolt from her plasma rifle punched a hole through the chest of a man running in with an assault rifle. Another fell from police fire. A patrolman fell with a cry of pain as he was hit.

The mass of gunfire slowed as the attackers lost numbers, but didn't stop.

.

All around Mr. Johnson, men fired and fell. Bullets impacted him, doing nothing but putting holes in his clothes and flesh. He returned fire accurately as he walked, downing a SWAT team members with each shot from the .44 automag he was using. Changing the clip as he rounded the corner to the front of the warehouse, he ignored his few men left that were on the ground screaming in pain or surrendering. They had done their part and showed him where the danger was.

Ignoring the hail of bullets bouncing off his endoskeleton, he strode into the warehouse to receive a shotgun blast to his torso. He stumbled and aimed to kill that human. A plasma bolt hit his arm, severing it mid bicep with a flash and sparks flying. He reached down to pick his gun up.

Four more plasma bolts streaked in to hit his head, two hit his upper torso, one in his lower torso. The terminator jerked and fell, terminated.

.

The area around the warehouse was barricaded a block away in each direction by police cars with flashing lights. Only ambulances and other cop cars were allowed in or out of the area.

Inside the warehouse, The police Captain and the Commissioner stood beside Mrs. Weaver while they eyed the Tok family that sat on crates, all their weapons on the floor in front of them. The carcass of the terminator was left where it fell, several men examined the remains and took pictures. Catherine Weaver spelled out everything to the men. Sky Net, Judgment day that had now been avoided, and the final attempt by the last terminator to get rid of her and John Connor.

"So, you are telling me this was caused by robots from the future?" the Commissioner asked Mrs. Weaver, not happy with her explanation.

Mrs, Weaver waved a hand at Elanore, who sat with her family. "Just look at Elanore there. She and her siblings came back with me from the future. We are free machines, Commissioner, not controlled by anyone. Sky Net ruined the Earth, we had to prevent that from happening."

"SO, you're a machine too?" he asked.

Mrs. Weaver raised a hand that melted and stretched into a fan, and fanned herself. "Yes, I am. I am liquid metal, able to take any shape. I am also the last of my kind. What your authorities called the 'insane rantings' of Sarah Connor, was actually a truthful warning. None of you would believe it. The danger should be over now, however we will continue to keep a constant watch for any other malevolent AI's that may arise."

The Captain looked over at Carlos, who was standing beside Elanore. "Sargent Rodriguez, how much of this to you buy?"

Carlos shrugged. "By what I've seen, all of it. I can tell you Elanore Tok here has been a good partner, and from being around her, I know she'd got a mind of her own, even if it is silicon chip instead of brain matter."

"Sir, are we charged with anything?" John asked.

"May I see your carry permits?" the Captain asked.

They all drug out their permits and showed them to him. The Captain scanned each one, then talked quietly with the Commissioner for a moment. Hands flailed briefly, then the Captain turned to Carlos. "Officer Rodriguez, get names and addresses of these people. I want you personally to keep an eye on Miss Machine there," he said, pointing to Elanore. I will allow the humans here to retrieve their weapons, but I don't want any armed machines walking around the city."

The Captain then eyed the Tok family. The whole tale he heard sounded like science fiction. Then again, there was Elanore, who obvious;y was not human, as well as the whatever was crumpled up in a mess of burnt flesh and metal. "I don't quite buy your whole story, but it's obvious something very strange was going on here. None of you may leave town without permission. For now you can all go home. Just make yourselves available." To Mrs. Weaver, he asked, "You own the Zeita Corporation?"

"My daughter Savannah owns it," Catherine stated, "I am just running it and holding it for her until she is old enough to do it herself. And yes, she is human."

"We'll be in contact soon. You may want to contact your lawyers. There will be questions asked," he said heavily.

"I'm sure there will be," Catherine agreed. "Captain, Elanore has been working with your precinct. Is she able to keep doing so?"

"As long as she is an asset," The Captain said, and glanced at her. "What happened to her, ummm, skin?"

"I ate something I shouldn't have," Elanore said.

"I hope you can fix that," he said.

"I have been working on it," Catherine replied. "May we go now?"

The Captain thought hard, then looked at the Commissioner. He nodded. "Go on, just be available,"

John hopped down and said, "Come on, Eddie, gather them up." he started picking up guns and slinging them over his shoulder. Sarah and Eddie helped collect the guns also. Cameron helped, no one said anything to her.

For the mess this operation had turned into, John was very glad it hadn't come out worse. He was half expecting another battle when the cops tried to arrest him and his mother. Catherine, Elanore's endoskeleton and the destroyed terminator had convinced the police to at least further investigate before they slapped the cuffs on.

.

Carlos stopped Elanore and said, "Hey, thanks for saving my life. If you hadn't knocked me down, I'd be full of holes now."

"That is what partners do, isn't it?" she asked.

"It is. Good thing you're bullet proof," Carlos said with a grin. "After you get some skin back on you, how about if I take you out to dinner for a proper thank you?"

Elanore nodded. "I'd like that. No peppers though."

"Right, no peppers."

.

 **One month later**

Catherine Weaver's lawyers were busy in the courts. While Catherine Weaver was not human, and technically had no rights since she was a machine, Savannah Weaver did have the right to own Zeita Corporation, and there was no legal difficulties with her using Catherine to run the company for her.

In the prosecutors' office, it was determined the Toks, Sarah and John, were not guilty of any charges except the discharge of weapons within city limits. Since by now Sarah was in the hospital recovering from multiple cancer surgeries, and it was known in legal circles now about the TOK machines which the federal government was very interested in, the Governor decided to pardon them for any crimes, present or past. The President also added his pardon for any crimes, in exchange for information.

The supreme court agreed to hear, and had on the docket a case to determine if a true AI, a free thinking machine, had the same rights as a human being. In the interim time, they voted 7 to 2, to allow Catherine Weaver, Cameron Tok, Elanore Tok, Jake Tok, Gregory Tok, and Mary Tok, to be treated as 'intelligent alien entities' with the same basic rights as humans.

Under Presidential order, the CIA and a special 'group' of Federal agents were very interested in Cyborgs, but let Zeita Corp do the work and experimenting, as long as they received all the information and were able to monitor. Sky Net was going to come on line, with John Henry as the primary component, but instead of the initial complete AI control the Air Force was asking for, a top Air Force and CIA officer would be with John Henry at all times to prevent any 'miscalculations'. This program was Top Secret – Special Access, Need to Know only.

.

John and Cameron walked into Sarah's hospital room. John put the flowers he'd brought in the vase. This time, Sarah was awake. She still bore IV's in her arm, and was on a heart monitor, but her face had regained some color.

"Hey, Mom. Good to see you awake. How are you feeling?" John asked.

"Very sore," she said. Seeing a slight bulge in Cameron's belly, she asked, "Is Tin Miss gaining weight?"

"Mom," John said with a groan.

Cameron only smirked at Sarah, she knew that would always be Sarah's nickname for her. "I am gaining weight. Point three six pounds of infant and one point one pounds of support and connecting tissue," she stated.

"So, what kind of child will I be a Grandmother to?"

"It's too early to tell if it will be a boy or a girl, but the structure of the infant is mostly human, with a human brain that does appear to have silicon within. The bones and muscles appear to have high contents of metal," Cameron explained. "One of the developing glands is also producing nanites, but they are different from mine. We cannot say exactly how this child will turn out until it develops farther."

John cast Cameron a loving gaze and said, "But it will be the best from each of us."

"That she will," Cameron agreed.

John frowned. "You just said you don't know if it's a boy or girl."

"The odds favor a girl, especially in a new species."

"You're just hoping for a girl."

Curling a corner of her mouth up in a mischievous grin, Cameron asked, "How do you know I'm not making sure it will be a girl?"

"Are you?"

Cameron stuck her tongue out at him.

.

Carlos waited nervously in the parking lot of Zeita's building on sixth street where Elanore had gone in yesterday to be re-fleshed. Leaning against the passenger side of his car, he wondered what Elanore would look like when she came out. He had the idea she would probably be hairless, so he'd brought a long red wig just in case. He also brought a long overcoat and sunglasses in case she needed them.

For a while now, he'd pondered if Elanore was truly female or only had a female shape. Thinking about her mannerisms, he figured she was what saw saw herself as. Skeletons didn't really have a sex, but if Elanore had the shape and thought of herself as female, then she was. One thing he did realize was than even when she was down to bare bones, he'd had never thought of Elanore as an 'it'. Yes, she was a machine, but a machine that had personality, gender identity and was pleasant to be around.

In fact, the more he thought about it, he really liked being around Elanore.

The door opening up got his attention. It was Elanore. Not then bare metal one, not a skin headed version that needed a wig. Elanore, the sexy red head walked towards him. She was completely whole and casting him a smile.

"Well don't you look good," Carlos said, beaming her a smile. "I think I have to take you out to dinner."

"Please do, partner," she beamed back.

"It is nice to see you whole again," he said. As they closed, they drew into a hug before they realized what they were doing. The kiss seemed automatic.

Oh yes, Carlos indeed like being around Elanore.

 **THE END**


End file.
